Governance for Generative UI
When AI builds the interface, who is responsible? Design Ops and ethical guardrails.
The Control Crisis of AI-Generated Interfaces
Generative UI (GenUI) is reality. Systems like v0 from Vercel, Galileo AI, and Builder.io create complete layouts on-the-fly. But with this power come massive risks – and the question: Who is liable when AI builds garbage?
- 34% of Fortune 500 experiment with GenUI
- v0.dev: 2M generated components/month
- Average error rate for AI-UI: 12-18%
- Of which 3% 'critical' (functionally wrong)
The Risks in Detail
- 'Buy Now' button leads nowhere
- Phone number is randomly generated
- Prices are incorrectly calculated
- Training data reflects historical prejudices
- 'Executive' images: 78% white men
- 'Assistant' images: 67% women
- Language models favor certain formulations
- Colors deviate from palette
- Tone of voice doesn't match brand
- Accessibility standards ignored
- GDPR: Automated decisions must be explainable
- ADA/EAA: Accessibility is mandatory – even for AI-UIs
- Contract law: Who is liable for wrong prices?
Constitution Files: The Solution
We need 'Constitution Files' for design systems – codified rules that the AI must not break:
Example Structure: ```yaml brand: colors: primary: '#22c55e' # MUST be exact tolerance: 0% # No deviation typography: headings: font: 'Inter' weights: [400, 600, 700] # Only these allowed
accessibility: min_contrast: 4.5 focus_visible: required content: prohibited_words: ['guaranteed', 'free', '100%'] legal_review_required: ['price', 'contract', 'terms'] ```
The New Role: AI Design Auditor
A new role emerges in design teams:
- Review of AI-generated components
- Stochastic testing (check 1000s of variants)
- Bias audits of generation models
- Documentation of error cases
- UX Design + ML basics
- Legal basics (GDPR, A11y)
- Statistical methods for testing
Governance Framework in 5 Stages
- GenUI only in development environment
- Manual review before production
- Constitution Files implemented
- Automatic validation against rules
- A/B testing of all AI variants
- Error tracking with automatic rollback
- 'AI-generated' badge where legally relevant
- Audit trail for all generations
- Feedback loops for model improvement
- Regular bias audits
️ Legal Recommendations
- Disclaimer: 'Parts of this page were AI-generated'
- Human Control: For contract-relevant UIs
- Audit Trail: 30-day retention of all versions
- Opt-Out: Users can choose 'classic' UI
GenUI is powerful – but only with governance also responsible.
