The growth in the use of artificial intelligence over the last couple of years has been rapid, with technologies continually – and quickly – evolving.
AI can bring plenty of benefits to our daily lives, but how can it be used safely, appropriately and legally at work?
What is artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence, or “AI”, is a general term for technologies that can perform tasks usually undertaken by humans, simulating human intelligence.
How can AI help us to work smarter?
Artificial intelligence technologies are often used to automate tasks which may otherwise be done by human hand. For example, some people use AI to write, review and summarise documents, to manage data, and to carry out processes such as sales or project management.
Used appropriately, AI can help many of us to work more efficiently, more productively and therefore more profitably. But it’s important to be aware of the risks and to understand how the use of AI should be managed to protect organisations and their people.
Is there any law against using AI at work?
No UK laws at the moment prevent the use of AI at work, but aspects of employment law enable employers to manage the technologies employees are using.
Employers and employees must establish a good level of trust, ensuring everyone uses AI only in a way that complements and benefits the organisation.
How can AI harm an organisation?
Without proper management or control, and by reducing the input of human judgment, artificial intelligence can pose a number of risks to an organisation:
- Potential bias or discrimination
AI has been shown to demonstrate bias, which is a particular risk when applied to human resource-related activities such as candidate selection or performance management.
If artificial intelligence technologies are not appropriately applied, and if they rely on out-of-date or biased data, potential (albeit unintentional) discriminatory practices may arise. For example, AI may be used to screen candidates for a new role. If the technology recognises that, historically, most successful applicants have been of a particular ethnicity or gender, it may adopt a bias towards those candidates.
- Cybersecurity risks & breaches of data protection
Data used by AI is potentially very sensitive. The more AI is used, the more exposed an organisation may be to cyber attacks and threats, which in turn could result in breaches of data protection regulations.
Where sensitive or personal data is to be accessed or processed by artificial intelligence technologies, an organisation must take steps to limit potential risks to the security of its systems, information, customers and employees, such as implementing safe-use and approved-use policies, or limiting access to AI technologies to only those who strictly need it to carry out their role.
- Breach of intellectual property rights
Artificial intelligence, especially technologies that generate works such as written content, images or software code, can risk potential breaches of intellectual property belonging to others.
Where AI is used to create a piece of work, it does so by reading and analysing existing works in which copyright is owned by the creator. If artificial intelligence then produces its own version, who does the copyright belong to, and is there a breach of the original creator’s copyright? Will the employer own the intellectual property in a piece of work created by an employee using AI? Answers to these questions aren’t clear at the moment, so organisations need to have the policies in place to minimise possible risks.
- Possible inaccuracies
AI is only as good as the data it has access to. Where technologies are scanning and reading data, whether online or within an organisation’s systems, to create work such as reports or written content, if the data’s inaccurate or incomplete, then so is the AI technology’s output.
It’s therefore crucial when using AI to ensure that data sources are accurate and complete, and to use human judgment to assess the quality of the final output.
All of these risks could potentially damage an organisation’s reputation, or even its ability to continue to trade.
How can use of AI be managed or controlled?
Organisations may implement artificial intelligence policies, allowing them to limit and monitor AI usage, and to ensure that only approved technologies are used by employees for specific purposes.
Start with a thorough review of what’s happening in your organisation and the technologies you’re using, and carry out a risk assessment based on your findings to identify potential exposure to risk. Following up with relevant training and policies will help to protect organisations and employees as AI becomes ever-more common in our workplaces.
This article has been prepared by Adroit Legal Services and is not intended to constitute legal advice.
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