AI Governance Engineer
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Data card

By Updated

Structured, versioned documentation of a dataset (provenance, lawful basis, rights, composition and known limitations) maintained as code alongside the system.

Developed in
ch. 04, Data governance across the stack
Chapters
ch. 04, The Stack
Contrast with
Datasheet for datasets
Source
Defined by this Body of Knowledge: the section it is developed in is the source

Where it is used

16 chapters of the Body of Knowledge use the term. Each link opens the first section that does.

Data card: mentions per chapter55 mentions of the term across 16 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter01 Definition: 1 mention01 Definition104 The Stack: 3 mentions04 The Stack305 Patterns: 1 mention05 Patterns108 Regulatory Map: 10 mentions08 Regulatory Map1011 AI Defined: 7 mentions11 AI Defined712 Governance Program: 5 mentions12 Governance Program513 Risk Management: 1 mention13 Risk Management114 Development: 1 mention14 Development115 Deployment: 2 mentions15 Deployment216 Fairness & XAI: 6 mentions16 Fairness & XAI617 Incidents: 1 mention17 Incidents118 EU AI Act: 2 mentions18 EU AI Act219 Privacy & AI: 4 mentions19 Privacy & AI420 Existing Law: 1 mention20 Existing Law121 AI Laws Worldwide: 5 mentions21 AI Laws Worldwide522 Principles & Standards: 5 mentions22 Principles & Standards5No mentions in the other 7 chaptersSource: the Body of Knowledgev0.5.0
Data card: mentions per chapter55 mentions of the term across 16 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter0001 Definition: 1 mention101020304 The Stack: 3 mentions30405 Patterns: 1 mention105060708 Regulatory Map: 10 mentions10081011 AI Defined: 7 mentions71112 Governance Program: 5 mentions51213 Risk Management: 1 mention11314 Development: 1 mention11415 Deployment: 2 mentions21516 Fairness & XAI: 6 mentions61617 Incidents: 1 mention11718 EU AI Act: 2 mentions21819 Privacy & AI: 4 mentions41920 Existing Law: 1 mention12021 AI Laws Worldwide: 5 mentions52122 Principles & Standards: 5 mentions52223Source: the Body of Knowledge v0.5.0
Mentions per chapter How often each chapter names the term, with the chapters the glossary cross-references drawn solid. The longest bar is where to read the term in use; bars spread across many chapters mark a term that runs through the discipline.
Mentions as a table
Mentions of Data card per chapter
ChapterMentionsCross-referenced
00 Preface0No
01 Definition1No
02 Why Now0No
03 Values & Principles0No
04 The Stack3Yes
05 Patterns1No
06 The Role0No
07 Maturity Model0No
08 Regulatory Map10No
10 Reading List0No
11 AI Defined7No
12 Governance Program5No
13 Risk Management1No
14 Development1No
15 Deployment2No
16 Fairness & XAI6No
17 Incidents1No
18 EU AI Act2No
19 Privacy & AI4No
20 Existing Law1No
21 AI Laws Worldwide5No
22 Principles & Standards5No
23 AI Agents0No

Patterns that use this term

4 pattern pages use the term, most mentions first.

Data card: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedContrastColour: stack layer of the pattern01 Govern-as-Code02 Inventory03 EvalsData cardRelated terms (4)Lawful basis · RelatedLawful basisProxy scan · RelatedProxy scanRecords of processing activities (ROPA) · RelatedRecords of processing activitiesSupervised learning · RelatedSupervised learningContrast with (1)Datasheet for datasets · ContrastDatasheet for datasetsPatterns using it (4)Dataset Admission Gate, 2 mentions · Uses the termDataset Admission GateFairness Eval Suite, 1 mention · Uses the termFairness Eval SuiteModel Card as Control Evidence, 2 mentions · Uses the termModel Card as Control EvidenceRights Requests Against Models, 1 mention · Uses the termRights Requests Against Models
Data card: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedContrastColour: stack layer of the pattern01 Govern-as-Code02 Inventory03 EvalsRelated terms (4)Lawful basis · RelatedLawful basisProxy scan · RelatedProxy scanRecords of processing activities (ROPA) · RelatedRecords of processing activitiesSupervised learning · RelatedSupervised learningContrast with (1)Datasheet for datasets · ContrastDatasheet for datasetsPatterns using it (4)Dataset Admission Gate, 2 mentions · Uses the termDataset Admission GateFairness Eval Suite, 1 mention · Uses the termFairness Eval SuiteModel Card as Control Evidence, 2 mentions · Uses the termModel Card as Control EvidenceRights Requests Against Models, 1 mention · Uses the termRights Requests Against ModelsData card
The term's neighbourhood Terms related to this one on solid edges, terms it is often confused with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer. Follow a dashed edge to check the distinction before you use either term.
Neighbourhood as a table
Neighbourhood of Data card
FamilyItemRelation
Related termsLawful basisRelated
Related termsProxy scanRelated
Related termsRecords of processing activities (ROPA)Related
Related termsSupervised learningRelated
Contrast withDatasheet for datasetsContrast
Patterns using itDataset Admission Gate, 2 mentionsUses the term
Patterns using itFairness Eval Suite, 1 mentionUses the term
Patterns using itModel Card as Control Evidence, 2 mentionsUses the term
Patterns using itRights Requests Against Models, 1 mentionUses the term
  • Records of processing activities (ROPA)

    The GDPR Article 30 record of each processing activity: purposes, categories of data and people, recipients, transfers, retention and security.

  • Supervised learning

    Learning from labelled examples.

  • Lawful basis

    One of the six grounds in GDPR Article 6 that make processing of personal data lawful: consent, contract, legal obligation, vital interests, public task and…

  • Proxy scan

    A test that trains a model to predict a protected attribute from a system's features; features that predict it strongly are flagged as proxies to justify or…

Sources

No external source: the term is coined or used in a specific sense by this Body of Knowledge, and the section linked under "Developed in" is its source.

Definitions of legal terms paraphrase the cited text, which governs. Dated statements are as of .

Cite this term

García Aibar, J. (2026). Data card. In AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis & Body of Knowledge (v0.5.0), Glossary. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197. https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/data-card. CC BY 4.0

BibTeX

@misc{aige2026datacard,
  author  = {Jorge García Aibar},
  title   = {{Data card}},
  note    = {Glossary, AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis \& Body of Knowledge, version 0.5.0},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.22956197},
  url     = {https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/data-card}
}