Guiding and Regulating the Use of Generative AI in Your Business

The use of AI in business, and particularly generative AI, is growing fast. Despite the many potential applications, however, there are a number of areas that require care and due diligence including IP and data protection.

Generative AI is a form of artificial intelligence which uses un-supervised and semi-supervised algorithms to create new content. This type of AI will be “trained” on a range of training data, typically of the same type that it will be used to create. A generative AI tool designed for image creation, for example, will be trained using datasets consisting of thousands of images “scraped” from the internet or other sources.

Generative AI has many possibilities and opportunities for businesses of all sizes, but it is not without its risks. While AI in general is not currently subject to much specific legislation and indeed the UK Government’s current plans for AI regulation are largely hands-off, generative AI use does intersect with other areas of law and regulation, not least intellectual property and data protection.

A new Generative AI Usage Policy is now available and has been designed to assist businesses in setting out rules and guidelines to govern the use of generative AI by employees and others working on their behalf.

Care and due diligence must be exercised when using Generative AI to avoid the risks associated with its use including those relating to the misuse of personal data and confidential information; intellectual property infringement and ownership; accuracy; misinformation; disinformation; and discrimination.

Generative AI is an emerging technology that is in a rapid and constant state of flux. So too is its use in business.

Our new template is not intended to be an exhaustive set of rules and regulations that will fit all use cases. Instead, it is intended to be a starting point for businesses exploring new Generative AI technologies and applications that wish to create their own policy. It is intended to be a “living document” and the template itself will be reviewed and updated as this area of technology and business continues to develop and best practices begin to emerge.