Modernize legacy IT with AI without increasing regulatory risk
Summary
This article explains how AI can speed up legacy modernization, especially for COBOL-based systems in regulated industries, but also introduces new compliance and audit risks. It argues that the hardest part is not code translation but proving that the modernized system preserves the original business behavior. The piece connects this challenge to DORA, NIS2, the EU AI framework, and GDPR, stressing that traceability and accountability matter more than raw delivery speed. It also lays out practical governance steps such as inventorying systems first, keeping humans in the approval loop, logging every transformation, controlling third-party data exposure, and managing shadow AI. The main takeaway is that modernization only creates durable value when it can survive regulatory scrutiny.