You may need an AI Policy for your employees!
Employers with knowledge workers should consider setting employer expectations around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace. A knowledge worker is anyone who has to think as part of their job and must produce some output—such as creating newsletters, content, reports, emails—anything that involves writing, composing information or presenting research.
Knowledge workers may be using AI on the sly without volunteering this detail to their employer. This usage can vary from a construction foreperson, to a receptionist, to a lawyer. Using the construction foreperson as an example, the worker could feed the AI an email written by the boss. The foreperson could ask the AI to look over project updates,and then ask it to write a reply using a blue-collar tone. The worker then re-edits the response and replies to the boss. Using AI help can save time for the foreperson because collecting one’s thoughts and putting pen to paper can be the hardest part. This fusion of the human-AI effort expedites communication and bypasses the notorious writer’s block. Using AI becomes a win-win. But there are pitfalls in the improper use of AI.
Know the Limitations of Using AI
Employers need to ensure that employees know the limitations of AI.
- Facts given by AI can be wrong, not up-to-date, and always needs to be double-checked.
- Employees must not feed AI with any proprietary or personal information.
- When using an AI platform, employees must comply with the AI terms of service. For example, some AI platforms forbid the use of their AI output to be used for commercial purposes.
You Need AI Policy for Your Employee Handbook
By getting ahead of the AI game with a company usage policy, you’re fostering a workplace where AI and human smarts coexist seamlessly. With that in mind, Cardinal Services has a sample AI policy for employers to use. If you have questions, please contact our HR Team at hr@cardinal-services.com.