AI Use Policies and Governance: Managing Legal Risks, Vendor Tools, and Automated Decision-Making Systems

This CLE webinar will examine the growing use of generative and other forms of AI in various business settings, legal workflows, vendor platforms, and customer-facing systems. The panel will address the need for organizations to develop, implement, and update adequate policies and procedures to identify and manage the legal risks of this evolving technology.

AI is now embedded across many aspects of business operations and attorneys must learn about AI to assist their clients with fast-moving technology, risk management, and compliance issues. The latest OpenAI models and other generative AI tools such as Claude, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot are now in everyday usage. These tools can generate content in the form of text, images, videos, audio, code, summaries, and analysis in seemingly miraculous fashion.

Most organizations are testing and integrating these tools into their operations. Many organizations are also deploying AI through vendor platforms, productivity tools, customer service functions, recruiting and employment systems, analytics, cybersecurity tools, and automated decision-making processes. Other forms of AI make decisions, predict outcomes, optimize business and technical processes, identify people and things, and operate robots and other machines in the real world. However, myriad risks and evolving legal and operational issues associated with the use of AI pose challenges to the organizations that adopt them.

While generative AI is opening new doors for organizations with creativity-boosting and time-saving tools, the technology has limitations that could cause big problems if not managed appropriately. The limitations typically center around the accuracy of its output and the data used to train, prompt, fine-tune, or operate its systems. Simple errors with the technology can put organizations at risk. Nonetheless, risks go far beyond the reliability of generative AI. Other forms of AI are vulnerable to bias and cyberattacks, while creating social and ethical challenges. AI systems may also raise concerns involving confidentiality, privilege, privacy, cybersecurity, intellectual property, vendor contracting, regulatory compliance, records retention, and human oversight.

Given the limitations of AI and the pace of its popularity, organizations need to act now and proactively implement and update policies to ensure AI systems enable sound decisions about their use. Having rigorous policies in place allows businesses to embrace AI technology in a deliberate and rational way while mitigating legal risks.

Some key areas an AI policy should cover are acceptable use; prohibited uses; reliability; compliance; data confidentiality, privacy, and security; privilege and sensitive information; bias and discrimination; transparency and explainability; intellectual property ownership and infringement; vendor due diligence and contracting; unintended consequences; employee training; management, accountability, and responsibility; ethical considerations; human review and oversight; incident reporting and handling; and continuous monitoring and improvement.

Listen as our panel of authoritative experts provides insight on creating and updating policies surrounding the use of AI and generative AI that make sense for an organization. The panel will discuss tips for creating one or more policies on generative AI by setting expectations, examining potential risks, addressing vendor and employee use, and balancing the legal and ethical considerations in an effective risk management program.