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8 Tips for Creating a Comprehensive “AI in the Workplace” Policy

By: Practical
Guidance

Corporate
investment
in
generative
artificial
intelligence
(Gen
AI)
technologies
continues
to
accelerate.
Average
Gen
AI
budgets
grew
by
30%
in
2024
and
they
are
expected
to
grow
at
roughly
60%
over
the
next
three
years,
soaring
to
7.6%
of
total
IT
budgets
by
2027,

according
to

a
report
from
Boston
Consulting
Group.

These
investments
are
leading
directly
to
rapid
adoption
of
Gen
AI
tools
in
the
workplace.
A
recent

Gallup
study

of
HR
executives
found
that
93%
of
Fortune
500
companies
have
begun
using
AI
tools
and
technologies
to
improve
business
practices
and
nearly
half
(45%)
of
them
say
their
organization’s
operational
efficiency
has
already
improved
because
of
AI.

There
is
one
potential
problem
looming
amid
this
exciting
tech-driven
trend:
too
often
the
legal
team
is
not
in
the
loop.


Law360


reported

that
human
resources
departments
are
using
AI
“while
about
half
of
their
legal
chiefs
don’t
even
know
about
it,”
noting
that
“these
discrepancies
among
executives
pose
challenges
for
effective
AI
risk
management.”


8
Tips
for
Creating
a
Comprehensive
AI
Policy

Legal
experts
caution
that
the
decision
to
implement
AI
in
the
workplace
should
be
a
deliberate
and
careful
one.
The
risks
are
too
great
to
rush
into
adoption
of
any
AI-powered
technology
simply
because
competitors
are
using
it
or
customers
are
asking
about
it.

“While
use
of
Gen
AI
can
make
it
easier
to
enhance
productivity
and
streamline
processes,
adopting
and
implementing
such
technologies
can
simultaneously
add
significant
complexity
to
an
organization’s
operations,
sales,
manufacturing
and
human
capital
management
operations,”
wrote
Eric
Felsberg
and
Douglas
Klein,
principals
at
Jackson
Lewis
P.C.,
in
a
recent
LexisNexis
Practical
Guidance

practice
note
.
“And
with
the
emergence
of
Gen
AI,
many
jurisdictions
have
issued
regulations
to
guard
against
its
misuse.
Consequently,
it
is
important
that
employers
seek
legal,
ethical
and
regulatory
guidance
when
implementing
AI
platforms
in
the
workplace.”

The
authors
suggest
that
employers
work
with
their
legal
team
to
create
a
comprehensive
AI
usage
policy
that
sets
the
ground
rules
for
the
deployment
of
AI
tools
in
their
organizations.
Here
are
eight
specific
tips
to
consider:


  1. Define
    AI
    Clearly
    delineate
    exactly
    what
    is
    being
    addressed
    by
    the
    policy

    and
    avoid
    overly
    technical
    language

    so
    that
    users
    have
    a
    clear
    understanding
    of
    which
    specific
    AI
    tools
    are
    being
    covered.

  1. Approved
    AI
    Platforms
    and
    Use
    Establish
    an
    approved
    list
    of
    AI
    platforms
    in
    order
    to
    mitigate
    the
    risk
    of
    employees
    leveraging
    any
    AI
    platform
    they
    come
    across
    to
    complete
    work
    tasks,
    then
    create
    a
    vehicle
    through
    which
    employees
    may
    request
    the
    review,
    vetting
    and
    approval
    of
    new
    tools
    in
    the
    future.

  1. Importance
    of
    Confidentiality
    and
    Data
    Security
    Include
    a
    prohibition
    against
    entering
    any
    confidential
    information
    into
    any
    AI
    platform
    unless
    that
    use
    is
    expressly
    authorized.
    To
    avoid
    the
    inadvertent
    disclosure
    of
    sensitive
    information,
    implement
    data
    security
    measures,
    including
    data
    encryption,
    access
    controls
    and
    data
    retention
    policies.

  1. Ensuring
    Accuracy
    before
    Relying
    on
    AI
    Output
    Require
    users
    to
    independently
    verify
    the
    output
    of
    the
    AI
    platform
    before
    relying
    on
    the
    content.
    In
    addition
    to
    the
    potential
    embarrassment
    and
    liability
    that
    could
    result
    from
    using
    “hallucinated”
    AI-generated
    output,
    there
    may
    be
    violation
    of
    applicable
    laws
    and
    ethical
    rules
    for
    certain
    industries

    such
    as
    those
    for
    lawyers.

  1. Intellectual
    Property
    Rights
    The
    policy
    must
    alert
    users
    not
    to
    use
    Gen
    AI
    to
    produce
    content
    that
    may
    violate
    intellectual
    property
    (IP)
    rights
    that
    may
    belong
    to
    the
    employer,
    clients
    or
    other
    third
    parties.
    Employees
    need
    to
    understand
    that
    Gen
    AI
    should
    be
    utilized
    as
    an
    “idea
    generator”
    and
    must
    alert
    others
    that
    it
    was
    used
    to
    generate
    work
    product.

  1. Monitoring
    for
    Bias
    Employers
    should
    ensure
    that
    their
    policy
    outlines
    how
    any
    AI
    tools
    are
    used
    when
    helping
    make
    employment
    decisions
    about
    applicants
    for
    hire,
    as
    well
    as
    employees
    eligible
    for
    promotion
    or
    facing
    termination.
    They
    should
    then
    monitor
    any
    tool
    used
    for
    employee
    selection
    decisions
    for
    evidence
    of
    bias
    built
    into
    them.

  1. Governance
    Establish
    an
    internal
    function
    dedicated
    to
    reviewing,
    evaluating
    and
    approving
    AI
    tools;
    another
    function
    that
    monitors
    developing
    laws
    and
    regulations
    to
    assess
    their
    potential
    impact;
    and
    a
    third
    function
    that
    fields
    internal
    questions,
    requests
    to
    use
    additional
    AI
    platforms
    and
    reports
    of
    violations
    of
    the
    AI
    usage
    policy.

  1. Monitoring
    and
    Periodic
    Updates
    as
    AI
    Continues
    to
    Evolve
    As
    technologies
    continue
    to
    evolve
    and
    regulations
    emerge,
    the
    AI
    usage
    policy
    should
    contain
    a
    provision
    advising
    AI
    users
    that
    the
    policy
    is
    subject
    to
    frequent
    update.
    Users
    must
    be
    directed
    to
    consult
    the
    policy
    each
    time
    that
    they
    embark
    on
    an
    AI-related
    project.


Resources
from
LexisNexis
Practical
Guidance

The
LexisNexis
Practical
Guidance
team
has
published
a

Generative
Artificial
Intelligence
Resource
Kit
,
a
comprehensive
collection
of
information
resources
that
examine
the
key
legal
issues
related
to
the
adoption
and
use
of
Gen
AI
technologies.
Specific
content
includes:

  • A

    training
    presentation

    with
    guidance
    on
    how
    AI
    is
    impacting
    employment
    law
    and
    the
    workplace;
  • A

    practice
    note

    that
    provides
    an
    overview
    of
    key
    legal
    issues;
  • A

    template

    that
    can
    be
    used
    to
    create
    a
    workplace
    policy
    governing
    the
    use
    of
    AI-driven
    tools
    in
    the
    workplace;
    and
  • A

    tracker

    that
    provides
    weekly
    updates
    on
    federal
    legislation
    pertaining
    to
    the
    deployment
    of
    Gen
    AI
    technologies.

Click here for
a
free
trial
of
LexisNexis
Protégé.