We made it to week 2! I'm going to apologize in advance if you were hoping for a fun tool right out the gate to play with. As your attorney friend who is definitely not YOUR attorney, and definitely not giving legal advice in this article....my non-advice for using AI in your business is to know where you can move fast without exposure and where you need to pause and take a beat to shore up protections elsewhere. AI has moved faster than the laws regulating it, so as business owners, we must be extra vigilant. Here are three key pillars to keep in mind before you click "Signup".

Pillar 1

Start with safety

1. Establish guidelines for you and anyone on your team when using AI. They don't have to be super fancy, they just have to exist. Document your policies and store them somewhere.
2. Don't fall into the "free tool" trap. This almost certainly means that any information you type in, sensitive or otherwise, is being used as training data.
3. Do a little extra digging before you use a tool. Does the agreement specify whether or not your information can be used for training data?

Pillar 2

Get Compliant (If Applicable to You)

1. If you work in a regulated industry, is there a governing board that has rules regulating the use of AI? If so, what is the specific language of that regulation? Is the regulation state or federal?
2. A Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is an important concept to think about here. This is a legally binding contract required under HIPAA that protects Protected Health Information (PHI). For regulated health industries, you cannot use an AI tool that will touch PHI without a BAA.
3. Other regulated industries like law and finance also have rules. For example, the American Bar Association's Formal Opinion 512. The important thing here, is knowing the rules for your profession and incorporating them into your tool selection and usage policy.

Pillar 3

Protect Your IP - Both Ways

1. The trade secrets and confidential data that you input are yours and should be afforded the same protection as any proprietary information.
2. What's generated from these prompts is a little different. Who owns AI generated content is as clear as mud. Solely AI-generated content cannot be copyrighted according to the US Copyright Office. However, if your human intervention is substantial in the selection, arrangement, or modification of the output....then you may have an argument there.
3. Reading through the terms of service is a good step before using any AI tool. However, as your friend who is an attorney but NOT your attorney, my advice is to consult a copyright attorney if you have questions. 😉

I say all this to say, don't be scared of AI, but definitely be safe. If you need a game plan to safely roll out AI in your business, start here: