Bridging AI and Regulation: Arbaaz Shaikh On Building Compliance-Ready Innovation

Arbaaz Shaikh, a tech leader, discusses bridging the gap between rapid AI innovation and slow-moving regulation, stressing the need for compliance-ready systems.

AI Innovation vs. Regulation: Arbaaz Shaikh on Closing the Compliance Gap

Source : Arbaaz Shaikh

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the foundations of global business, a silent but increasingly urgent challenge has emerged, the widening compliance gap between rapid technological deployment and regulatory clarity. Arbaaz Shaikh, Co-founder of the intelligent immigration platform BeyondH1B, warns that this gap is especially acute in early-stage ventures, where innovation often outpaces governance.

"Startups are moving fast with AI, but regulatory frameworks aren’t keeping up," says Shaikh. "This asymmetry introduces operational, ethical, and reputational risk, sometimes without the developers even realising it."

A Patchwork of Global Frameworks

Shaikh, a seasoned technologist with over a decade of experience in cybersecurity and IT systems auditing, notes the disjointed global regulatory environment as a major contributor to the gap. The European Union’s AI Act, the U.S. Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI, and India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act all reflect divergent philosophies on AI risk, accountability, and enforcement.

"These frameworks aren’t just written in different languages, they’re built on different assumptions," he explains. "That makes translating them into product design especially challenging for resource-constrained startups."

To add complexity, emerging standards such as ISO/IEC 42001 (AI Management Systems) and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework are still in early stages of industry adoption, creating a fragmented compliance landscape.

Building Compliance into Architecture

At BeyondH1B, Shaikh’s team made a deliberate decision that compliance would not be an afterthought. From the platform’s inception, it aligned with NIST 800-53 security controls, implemented FIPS-140-2 validated encryption, and designed data flows to conform to GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 guidelines.

"We had to translate regulatory directives into technical architecture, designing audit trails, access control matrices, and privacy logic directly into the platform," says Shaikh. "There was no standardised bridge between legal language and system code, so we had to build our own."

From Buzzwords to Operational Clarity

While terms like 'privacy by design,' 'algorithmic transparency,' and 'human-in-the-loop' are now part of AI compliance vocabulary, Shaikh cautions against assuming shared understanding.

"Developers, legal teams, and regulators often interpret these buzzwords differently," he notes. "Without an operationalised vocabulary, the risk of misalignment increases, leading to either under-compliance or over-engineering."

The Case for Embedded Collaboration

Shaikh advocates for practical, real-time collaboration across industry and government. He supports the creation of regulatory sandboxes, like those piloted by Singapore’s PDPC and the UK’s ICO, which allow startups to innovate under direct regulatory guidance. He also calls for greater engagement from bodies like ISACA, IEEE, and NASSCOM to co-create open-source compliance templates.

"We need working groups that include engineers, product managers, legal experts, and policymakers designing together, not in silos," he says. He also recommends that compliance and risk professionals be embedded directly into product development teams. "Policy fluency needs to exist at the code level."

The Path Forward

"Regulators need to understand engineering, and developers must appreciate policy," Shaikh says. "That’s how we bridge the compliance gap, not just through legislation, but through meaningful partnership."

Shaikh was recently honoured with the Times Power Brand Award 2025 in recognition of his pioneering contributions at the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance. With over a decade of experience spanning IT audit, system risk management, and digital transformation, he is widely regarded as a leading voice in responsible AI architecture. Outside of BeyondH1B, Arbaaz leverages his expertise to support large enterprises in building secure, regulation-aligned systems ranging from AI-enabled workflows to enterprise-level data governance and compliance infrastructure.