Community & Business
7 May, 2023
Artificial intelligence in the workplace
RECENT advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have created discussion about how they might impact the way we work.
One of the more popular tools is ChatGPT, which has generated plenty of interest and hype over the past few months for its ability to converse and generate text in a human-like way.
It can undertake a range of tasks with nearly instantaneous responses, from creating blog posts and writing emails, to drafting essays and even composing song lyrics.
There is no doubt the potential it will bring will be greater than anything we have seen pre-viously.
Savvy employers and employees will likely already be thinking about how these remarkable kinds of AI capabilities will affect their workplaces and how they do their jobs.
But it’s important to note these technologies are still new and going through various stages of development.
Given this, it’s worth approaching their use with a degree of caution and being alert to the potential for errors, especially if you are planning on using AI for more than just generating creative content.
If you use AI-generated content for your work, you should always check it for accuracy as you are ultimately responsible for the final product.
Any inaccurate or misleading content produced by these AI technologies could have serious consequences, including for your reputation.
You should be transparent with your supervisor or other relevant colleagues about any use of AI-generated material in your work.
Avoid uploading any confidential or commercially sensitive material into these AI tools to reduce the risk of harm if a data breach occurs.
Be mindful that any informa-tion you upload could be used in generating output for other queries.
You should also be aware of the potential limitations of AI tools, for example, if they misunderstand your request, or lack the most recent data in relation to your topic
Even though the content delivered might seem convincing, you shouldn’t simply accept the generated results as true and reproduce the output without doing your own checks and analysis.
If you are an employer or a manager, it may be helpful to talk through with your staff any expectations or guidelines around the use of AI in the workplace.
Kristyn Lennon is a Cairns-based lawyer who heads Maurice Blackburn’s Tablelands office. This legal information is general in nature and should not be regarded as specific legal advice
