Managing the Rise of AI
A Practical Guide for Employers
Employers in all industries are grappling with the challenge of a new technology that is fundamentally changing the way work is performed and how resources are allocated.
While specific regulation is lagging the development of the technology, there is no doubt that a range of existing legislation will need to be considered when implementing AI, including:
workplace and industrial relations
work health and safety (WHS)
privacy and surveillance, and
intellectual property (IP) and copyright
The issue
Employers therefore need to think carefully about how they will adapt to the use of AI in their workplaces and the impacts it may have on service delivery and employment relations.
Guidance is available. For example, the Department of Industry Science and Resources has consulted on and developed a series of “guardrails” for businesses that intend to deploy AI systems in their workplace.[1]
While the Government ultimately decided not to proceed with the guardrails, they are instructive for employers. The guardrails included:
establish, implement and publish an accountability process including governance, internal capability and a strategy for regulatory compliance
establish and implement a risk management process to identify and mitigate risks
enable human control or intervention in an AI system to achieve meaningful human oversight
inform end-users regarding AI-enabled decisions, and interactions with AI and AI-generated content
establish processes for people impacted by AI systems to challenge use or outcomes.
There are also recommended guardrails for testing, verification, compliance and record keeping.
In the workplace
The Guardrails illustrate that, if they haven’t already, employers should be developing policies and procedures about the introduction and use of AI in the workplace. However, AI presents unique challenges and employers should consider a number of factors before finalising workplace documents.
These include:
What AI system are we using? Is it public or restricted?
Do we know how the system works? Is the provider able to provide guarantees about information and privacy?
How will AI be used in our business? Unfettered or for specific or discrete tasks?
Should the use of AI be disclosed by employees and to whom?
Will there be human oversight and verification of work developed or performed with the use of AI, and how will this occur?
How will we communicate about the use of AI to employees, customers, stakeholders, and the public?
Do we have appropriate privacy and data protections in place to support the use of AI?
What information will we permit employees to upload? Do we need to get consent from or disclose to owners of the information?
Who in the business is responsible for the oversight and management of AI use?
How will misuse of AI be performance managed? Are our discipline policies and processes fit for purpose regarding AI?
Businesses should also bear in mind that introducing AI may create a major workplace change that enlivens consultation obligations under modern awards and enterprise agreements. Further, significant changes to how work is performed can be a psychosocial risk and give rise to WHS Act obligations.
These are some of the questions that you may wish to ask within your business, of your advisors and AI provider prior to committing to implementing these systems.
Conclusion
Businesses that are proactive and consider these issues prior to implementing a policy and introducing AI will be well placed to reap the advantages that AI can bring, while mitigating the risks and positioning themselves to respond to those risks.
Please call CER for advice and assistance on these issues and/or to prepare an AI policy that will work for you in your workplace.