In this episode, MinterEllisonRuddWatts partners Tom Maasland and John Conlan talk about the opportunities and risks posed to businesses by accessibility of generative AI.
Tom and John look at the risks and benefits to be weighed up by a company that’s wanting to choose which gen-AI tools to procure: how, as a business, can it ensure that it’s using new AI tools constructively and effectively?
[2:41] Tom starts by giving some initial tips that companies could follow when considering adopting a new gen-AI tool, including understanding how the tool works and how it was developed.
[06:38] They touch on privacy and IP concerns that may arise, including new tools that might actually read screens that are open at the same time.
[13:50] Tom and John talk about specific cybersecurity concerns that may arise from using new gen-AI tools, particularly with legacy systems, and malicious gen-AI tools that are coming to life [15:45].
[19:52] They discuss regulatory regimes that are in the process of being developed world-wide and look at the impact that this might have on New Zealand, and finish with a quick run through of the exciting opportunities that early adoption could bring [23:50].
We note that the podcast references regulatory developments that are underway. There is a wide range of approaches to regulation worldwide. The EU has passed its EU AI Act (although this will not come into force for two years), which categorises AI according to risk and places strict obligations accordingly. In contrast, the United States is taking a more voluntary approach, asking companies to sign up to commitments that have no penalties, and letting litigation determine a lot of early decisions around AI regulation: there has been a huge amount of action in the copyright space over the last month (see here for comment). Australia has, as mentioned in the podcast, just closed a consultation in respect of AI regulation: you can read more about this process on MinterEllison's website here.
Please contact Tom Maasland or our Technology team if you need legal advice and guidance on any of the topics discussed in the episode.
Please get in touch to receive an episode transcript, noting that this episode dates from August 2023. Please don’t forget to rate, review or follow Tech Suite wherever you get your podcasts. You can also sign up to receive technology updates via your inbox here.
