I Asked 3 AI Tools What My AI Usage Policy Should Cover..

Fraser Beadle
September 26, 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being rapidly adopted by businesses across pretty much all industries. While AI holds great promise, it also poses potential risks if deployed without proper governance. That's why it's critical for companies to establish clear AI usage policies before implementation. In this post, we'll explore what an effective AI policy contains and why it's an essential part of your AI strategy.

So I decided to ask 3 promenant AI tools what they thought an AI usage policy should contain, partly as it is something we should all be considering right now, and partly as an interesting experiment.

I used the same quite wording each time - "What would you suggest my company's AI usage policy should cover?"

Before we get into the results lets discuss why an AI usage Policy matters...

Why an AI Usage Policy Matters

As AI becomes entrenched in business operations, the need for robust and proactive policies grows. Here are some key reasons every company employing AI should have a usage policy:

  • Mitigates risks - A clearly defined policy helps identify and address dangers like bias, security vulnerabilities, privacy invasion, lack of transparency, or other unintended consequences. With appropriate guardrails in place, companies can harness AI safely.
  • Builds trust - Strong policies demonstrate to stakeholders - employees, customers, shareholders, regulators - that AI is being used ethically and responsibly. This promotes confidence in the technology.
  • Enhances oversight - Policies establish procedures for rigorous AI testing, monitoring, auditing and controls. This facilitates effective governance and accountability.
  • Clarifies roles - Detailing specific duties related to AI development, deployment and monitoring ensures responsibilities are clear across teams.
  • Sets expectations - Employees understand upfront how AI can and can't be utilized in their organization and the standards requiring compliance.
  • Prepares for scrutiny - As governments increasingly regulate AI, sound policies help position companies to withstand legal and public scrutiny.
  • Upholds values - Policies provide an avenue to codify ethical principles that align with company values regarding use of AI and data.

Well-constructed AI policies empower businesses to extract maximum value from AI while proactively managing risks. They demonstrate forethought and leadership in governance. In short, AI usage policies are foundational to responsible and sustainable adoption.

Now lets see what our AI tools onto the answers from the 3 AI tools...

CLAUD AI

Claude is an artificial intelligence chatbot created by Anthropic, an AI safety startup. Claude is designed to be helpful, harmless, and honest through a technique called Constitutional AI. Unlike most chatbots which are narrow in scope, Claude aims to be able to converse naturally on a wide range of everyday topics. Its responses are generated by a large language model trained on both public and private data. A key focus during Claude's development has been on alignment - ensuring its values and intent align with human values. Testing indicates Claude is capable of open-ended conversation without exhibiting harmful behavior. Anthropic aims to set a new standard for safe and trustworthy AI assistants through Claude.

CLAUDES Response

"What would you suggest my company's AI usage policy should cover?"

Here are some key elements I would recommend including in an AI usage policy:

  • Purpose - Clearly state the intended uses of AI within the company, and what it should NOT be used for. For example, using AI for automated customer support chatbots, but not to make hiring decisions.
  • Ethics - Affirm a commitment to using AI in an ethical manner that avoids bias, promotes fairness and transparency, and respects privacy.
  • Data - Explain what data will be used to train AI models, how it will be collected/labeled, and measures taken to ensure quality and prevent misuse.
  • Explainability - Require explanations for AI decisions when appropriate to ensure trust and accountability.
  • Testing - Mandate rigorous testing of AI systems before deployment to avoid unintended harm. Outline procedures for ongoing monitoring.
  • Roles & Responsibilities - Define who oversees AI development, deployment, monitoring - establish clear lines of authority.
  • Access Controls - Specify who can access and use AI systems and data. Prohibit unauthorized access.
  • Privacy - Guarantee confidential data will be protected and anonymized where required by law. Limit data collection, retention and sharing.
  • Security - Outline cybersecurity protocols, access controls, and encryption standards to secure AI data and systems.
  • Compliance - Commit to following all relevant laws and regulations regarding use of AI and data.
  • Risk Assessment - Require AI risks to be evaluated prior to deployment and regularly reviewed.
  • Reporting - Employees should report violations of policy, risks or harms detected to ensure accountability.
  • Oversight - Establish a cross-functional team, ethics board or other oversight group to govern AI use.

The goal is to proactively address AI ethics, privacy, security and risk upfront through comprehensive policies. Let me know if you would like me to elaborate on any area!

Bing Chat

Bing Chat is an AI-powered chat system developed by Microsoft. It is designed to provide users with an interactive and engaging conversational experience. Bing Chat leverages the power of GPT-4, a state-of-the-art generative AI model, to generate responses to user queries.

Bing Chats Response 

"What would you suggest my company's AI usage policy should cover?"

AI usage policies are essential for companies that use AI to ensure that the technology is used ethically and responsibly. Here are some key points that your company’s AI usage policy should cover:

  1. Data privacy and security: Your company’s AI usage policy should outline how data is collected, stored, and used. It should also specify how data privacy and security will be ensured.

  2. Transparency: Your company’s AI usage policy should ensure that the AI system is transparent, and the decision-making process is explainable. This is especially important when the AI system is used to make decisions that affect people’s lives.

  3. Fairness: Your company’s AI usage policy should ensure that the AI system is fair and unbiased. This means that the AI system should not discriminate against any group of people based on their race, gender, or any other characteristic.

  4. Accountability: Your company’s AI usage policy should ensure that there is accountability for the AI system’s actions. This means that there should be a clear chain of responsibility for the AI system’s decisions.

  5. Ethics: Your company’s AI usage policy should ensure that the AI system is used ethically. This means that the AI system should not be used to harm people or violate their rights.

  6. Regulations: Your company’s AI usage policy should ensure that the AI system complies with all relevant regulations and laws.

  7. Training: Your company’s AI usage policy should ensure that employees who work with the AI system are trained to use it effectively and responsibly.

  8. Monitoring: Your company’s AI usage policy should ensure that the AI system is monitored regularly to ensure that it is working as intended and that any issues are addressed promptly.

These are some of the key points that your company’s AI usage policy should cover. However, it is important to note that every company’s AI usage policy will be different, depending on the nature of the business and the way that AI is used.

CHAT GPT

ChatGPT is an advanced AI language model developed by OpenAI. It serves as a versatile and highly capable text-based conversational agent. ChatGPT is designed to understand and generate human-like text responses, making it valuable for a wide range of applications, including customer support, content generation, and more. When implementing AI policies, understanding the capabilities and ethical considerations surrounding models like ChatGPT is essential to ensure responsible and beneficial AI usage within your organization.

CHAT GPT Response

"What would you suggest my company's AI usage policy should cover?"

Creating a comprehensive AI usage policy for your company is essential to ensure responsible and ethical use of AI technologies. Below are some key areas and topics that your AI usage policy should cover:

  1. Purpose and Scope:

    • Define the purpose of the AI usage policy.
    • Specify which AI technologies and applications are covered by the policy.
  2. AI Ethics and Values:

    • Establish ethical guidelines for AI usage, emphasizing fairness, transparency, and accountability.
    • Ensure AI systems do not discriminate against any individuals or groups.
  3. Data Privacy and Security:

    • Outline how AI systems handle sensitive data and ensure compliance with data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA).
    • Specify data security measures to protect against breaches and unauthorized access.
  4. Data Usage and Collection:

    • Describe how data is collected, stored, and used by AI systems.
    • Address issues of data ownership and consent.
  5. Transparency and Explainability:

    • Encourage transparency in AI decision-making processes.
    • Explain how AI-generated decisions can be understood and audited.
  6. Accountability and Responsibility:

    • Define roles and responsibilities of employees involved in AI development, deployment, and maintenance.
    • Establish procedures for reporting and addressing AI-related issues or biases.
  7. Fairness and Bias Mitigation:

    • Implement guidelines to identify and mitigate biases in AI algorithms.
    • Ensure that AI systems do not perpetuate or amplify existing biases.
  8. Training and Education:

    • Promote AI literacy among employees to foster responsible AI usage.
    • Offer training on AI ethics and best practices.
  9. Compliance with Regulations:

    • Ensure that AI systems comply with all relevant laws and regulations.
    • Specify reporting mechanisms for regulatory compliance.
  10. Third-Party AI Providers:

    • Provide guidelines for evaluating and selecting third-party AI providers.
    • Outline expectations for third-party AI system compliance with your policy.
  11. Monitoring and Auditing:

    • Define procedures for ongoing monitoring and auditing of AI systems.
    • Specify how AI performance and impact will be assessed.
  12. Incident Response:

    • Establish a protocol for responding to AI-related incidents, including data breaches or ethical concerns.
    • Include procedures for notifying affected parties and regulatory bodies, if necessary.
  13. Intellectual Property:

    • Address ownership and usage of AI-related intellectual property created by employees during their tenure.
  14. Accessibility and Inclusivity:

    • Ensure that AI systems are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.
    • Promote inclusivity in AI design and development.
  15. Continuous Improvement:

    • Encourage a culture of continuous improvement in AI development and deployment.
    • Foster innovation while upholding ethical standards.
  16. Review and Updates:

    • Specify a schedule for reviewing and updating the AI usage policy to reflect changing technologies and regulations.
  17. Enforcement and Consequences:

    • Describe consequences for violations of the AI usage policy, which may include disciplinary actions.
  18. Training and Awareness:

    • Develop an awareness program to ensure that all employees understand and adhere to the policy.
  19. Legal Counsel and Compliance:

    • Involve legal counsel to ensure that the AI usage policy complies with all applicable laws and regulations.
  20. Communication and Reporting:

    • Outline communication channels for employees to report AI-related concerns or issues.

Remember that an effective AI usage policy is a living document that should be regularly updated to adapt to evolving technologies and changing organizational needs. It should also be communicated clearly to all employees and stakeholders to ensure compliance and responsible AI use throughout the company.

As you can see each of the tools has given slightly different answers, as you would expect, but all are good basis for starting the work of creating the AI Policy for your orginisation. 

It seems that implementing a comprehensive AI usage policy is no longer an optional extra - it is quickly becoming an imperative. As AI adoption accelerates, the organizations who take a proactive stance on governance will have a competitive advantage. They will be poised to reap AI's benefits while avoiding pitfalls, earning them trust and confidence.

The window to establish appropriate AI guardrails before harms materialize is closing fast. The prudent path is to invest now in developing robust policies, not play catch up later. By laying this groundwork today, companies can mold AI into a force that creates widespread value, not vulnerability.

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