Whether you know it or not, generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Dall-E have infiltrated your office environment. Employees use these tools for various tasks, including generating creative content for blogs and emails, finding inspiration, and possibly even for purposes that could be risky. As an office equipment dealer or technology solutions provider, it's crucial not to overlook the importance of AI safety in your workplace.
Don't get me wrong, I love generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Dall-E, Bing Chat, and Bing Create. They have revolutionized my work as a writer and creative professional by offering unparalleled freedom and creative inspiration. However, like all powerful tools, we must use them safely and responsibly. This article aims to help you ensure AI safety in your office and provide good governance ideas.
There are 5 main areas to consider for AI safety:
- Private information
- Intellectual property (IP)
- Corporate reputation
- AI Bias
- AI Attribution.
In this blog, we'll discuss the risks associated with improper AI usage, offer suggestions for maintaining responsible practices, and even provide guidance on developing a generative AI policy for your office.
Private Information
Employees new to using ChatGPT may be excited to discover how it can assist them in document creation, especially for time-consuming tasks like drafting contracts. ChatGPT has access to over 3 billion transformer data points and is trained on a massive dataset, including thousands of publicly available contracts. However, there's one crucial rule: never input sensitive information such as credit card details, customer names, or data protected by NDAs into ChatGPT. The AI tool uses memory to store this information, which raises privacy concerns. Share this information with your staff to prevent accidental data leaks and ensure the protection of sensitive and private customer information.
Intellectual Property (IP)
Your organization likely has IP that requires protection, and you probably already have policies in place to secure this information. However, employees who are not educated on the security of AI tools like ChatGPT might inadvertently put your IP at risk. For example, developers working on a new application could use ChatGPT for code checking and code writing. While there's nothing inherently wrong with this, it's essential to remember that ChatGPT is trained on the entire internet up to September 2021, including software code. Because generative AI and code development is relatively new, there's a lot of gray area regarding whether the code learned from the internet is considered IP. Encourage your teams to ask themselves whether the information they're inputting into the AI tool is sensitive or contains company IP. If the answer is yes or maybe, advise them not to use the tool for that specific task.
Corporate Reputation
As mentioned earlier, I love using ChatGPT in my creative process. However, it's essential to understand the limitations of generative AI tools. One such limitation is that these AI models sometimes "hallucinate" and generate false information. You could ask ChatGPT for a quote from an expert, and it might produce an answer that seems accurate but is entirely fabricated. While the AI model is continuously refined to reduce hallucinations, it's crucial to fact-check the output before publishing it in company materials, such as blogs or press releases. Doing so will prevent unintentional dissemination of false information and protect your corporate or professional reputation. Additionally, never rely on source links provided by AI tools as they often list dead links.
AI Bias
Another aspect to consider while using generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Dall-E is the potential for AI bias. These AI models are trained on vast amounts of data from the internet, which can include biased or controversial content. Consequently, the AI's output may unintentionally perpetuate existing biases or stereotypes. To address this issue, it's essential to educate your employees on AI bias and encourage them to critically evaluate the generated content. By recognizing and challenging potential biases in AI-generated content, you can promote a more inclusive and unbiased work environment while avoiding potential damage to your company's reputation.
AI Attribution
As generative AI tools become more prevalent in content creation, it's essential, at least in my view, to establish clear guidelines for attribution. This involves crediting the AI tools used in the creative process, alongside human authors or creators. I’m not saying you have to credit it for everything, like searching for ideas or even for bullet points to build your blog out from, but if the lion’s share of writing is AI driven, perhaps it would be good to let the reader know. Proper attribution not only fosters transparency but also demonstrates your organization's commitment to ethical AI use. By developing and implementing an attribution policy, you can ensure that your team is using AI tools responsibly and acknowledging the role these tools play in the creative process.
In Summary
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Dall-E are here to stay, and learning to use them responsibly is crucial. By following the guidelines in this blog and working with your team to develop a generative AI policy for your office, you can ensure the safe and secure use of AI in your workplace. Embrace the potential of these tools to improve efficiency and productivity, but remember to prioritize privacy, intellectual property, and corporate reputation at all times. Sharing this knowledge and implementing responsible practices will help your organization harness the power of generative AI without compromising security or integrity. If you’d like help or if you want to shorten learning cycles around how to use AI in your office, be sure to reach out on LinkedIn. My profile is linked in my author bio below.
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Edited for flow and keyword optimization using ChatGPT+
Images created using Bing Create