Getting ready for the new world

Whilst awaiting regulatory clarity, it’s understandable that businesses from all sectors are keen to push ahead with harnessing the power of Gen AI to bolster their proposition. This new generation of AI promises a variety of potential benefits for organisations, ranging from improved efficiency and cost reductions, to enhanced customer experience and security. 

But how can forward-looking companies be sure they’re approaching Gen AI with due care? To help demystify Gen AI and its legal implications, we gathered a panel of experts from across our international business for a webinar that provides usable insights into this fast-moving area. If you’re interested in the topic, I’d urge you to watch the full recording to help boost your understanding. Here are some of the key takeaways you may find useful:  

• • Consider the right use cases for your business. Whether its product design, content creation, or fraud detection, the opportunities that this technology opens up are enormous. For example, it’s likely call centres will increasingly implement Gen AI to summarise calls that come in from customers. Gen AI can also be used to improve the field of document intelligence by extracting complex information to create reports and summaries that would previously have had to be done manually. Another application is drawing on Gen AI to prepare a rough first draft of marketing materials. Find the most relevant use case for your specific needs.

• • Create an appropriate internal policy. In a recent survey of 11,700 professionals, 43% said they already use Gen AI for work, with around 70% of this group claiming they’re using ChatGPT and other tools without disclosing it to bosses. So once you’ve determined the right use cases for your business, drafting a comprehensive policy which states how Gen AI can be used, and in what circumstances, is incredibly helpful in setting expectations, managing behaviours, and helping your people to move forward with confidence. 

• • Understand what data sources sit behind the technology. For example, ChatGPT version 3.5 was only trained on data up to 2021, and so didn’t access more recent information. And many Gen AI solutions don’t provide the user with sources, making it much harder to fact check. Data bias is also an important consideration – information predominantly comes from the West, which can open up political or unconscious bias. Gen AI can be very convincing – a bit like an overconfident lawyer who is technically wrong! That can be very dangerous, so users should have a thorough understanding of exactly what they’re asking. 

• • Be aware of the full range of limitations and legal risks. The use of Gen AI tools will be increasingly shaped by evolving regulations, and impacted by considerations regarding intellectual property (IP) laws, data and privacy, cybersecurity, contracts and suppliers, litigation risk, and employment law. If you operate within a regulated sector, you’ll need to check regularly for any guidance provided by your regulator. For example, if you don’t comply with the EU AI Act, the fines are set to 6% of annual global turnover or 30 million euros, whichever is higher. We’re also starting to see more cases regarding IP infringement, such as the recent case where Getty Images has accused Stability AI of breaching its copyright by using its images to “train” its Stable Diffusion system. Stay informed to stay clear of trouble.

• • Moving forward, consider AI part of your ESG strategy. ESG is high on the board agenda for almost all businesses. The ethical use of Gen AI, including reputational risks, will likely come to sit within at least the ‘G’, if not the ‘S’ as well. Are the Gen AI systems you’re using fair and non-discriminatory? Have you tested the outputs for discrimination and disparate impacts toward protected classes? Unsupervised AI systems can generate natural language datasets that are harmful, and so require careful monitoring and a thorough understanding. 

Embracing Gen AI can result in more innovative business models, but there are risks along the way. Identify the right use cases, determine their impact, and develop a plan to tackle them. Your legal advisors will be able to help you navigate the complex regulatory and ethical landscape to ensure that you are integrating this disruptive technology responsibly.