CEO, Founder at KeyMedia Solutions. We are curious problem solvers helping SMBs achieve success through online advertising.
Since the public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, chances are good that artificial intelligence has been the hottest topic around your company watercooler, if not in the C-suite, then among your staff. I would even bet that they are using it at a greater rate than you are aware of. To test this and gain a better understanding of how my staff was using AI, I surveyed my team recently and learned that 90% were using AI to assist in writing (emails, notes, proposals, marketing content) and 75% were using AI for some form of design or concepting.
At first, I was thrilled that they are grabbing hold of new technology, asking questions and testing. This is all critical to the advancement of our company in a highly competitive industry.
Then, I started thinking more deeply about the trend that was evolving and started to become concerned. We did not have a written policy governing the team’s testing and use. We did not have written guidelines or boundaries to monitor the data flow or protect them and the company. So we created an AI policy, along with a best practice checklist and a document listing safe AI tools and a “do not use” list.
While AI can offer many benefits to companies, there are also potential dangers you need to address to protect your business and its stakeholders.
Potential Dangers Of AI
Some of the potential dangers can include:
Data Security And Privacy Concerns
AI tools often require access to data to learn and improve, which raises concerns about data security and privacy. If your employees experiment with AI tools without proper safeguards, sensitive company and customer data could be exposed, leading to potential legal and financial liabilities.
Intellectual Property Risks
If employees use proprietary company data or software to train AI models without authorization, it could lead to intellectual property infringement issues. This may result in disputes over ownership and control of the AI models, affecting the company’s competitive advantage.
Regulatory Compliance
Depending on the industry, there may be specific regulations that govern the handling of data. Unauthorized experimentation with AI could lead to violations of these regulations, resulting in fines and reputational damage.
Bias And Fairness
AI models trained on biased data can perpetuate and amplify existing biases, leading to discriminatory outcomes. If your employees experiment with AI without considering fairness and inclusivity, it could lead to discrimination issues and damage the company’s reputation. This is especially risky if they are not trained in bias.
Unreliable Outputs
AI models, including ChatGPT, can generate incorrect or misleading information. Relying on unreliable AI-generated outputs without fact-checking procedures could lead to poor decision making and operational inefficiencies.
Miscommunication With Customers
If AI-generated content is shared with customers without proper oversight, it could lead to miscommunication, confusion and customer dissatisfaction.
Potential Liability For AI Actions
It’s possible that AI systems could take actions that have legal consequences. If an employee deploys an AI tool that interacts with customers or external stakeholders and causes harm, the company could be held liable for those actions.
How To Protect Your Business
To mitigate these dangers, make sure you establish clear AI usage policies, ensure that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive data, and provide proper training on AI ethics and best practices. Regular monitoring and auditing of AI usage can also help you identify and address potential risks early on. Additionally, collaborating with legal and AI experts can help you understand and navigate the legal and ethical complexities of AI adoption.
This isn’t a task that can be pushed down the priority list. Over the last few weeks, I have had multiple conversations with business owners who have experienced some of these dangers in their shops. Whether you think you need to address AI usage today or next year, start the conversation today and find a resource available to help develop these new policies.
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