Questions for GCs to Ask about AI

AI can help us be more efficient, but it can also be a Pandora’s box of unforeseen legal risks. These often fall to the organization’s General Counsel (GC) to manage. However, thinking of and planning for every possible contingency is no easy task. Weil has recently created a list of 25 Key Questions that General Counsels Should be Asking Themselves with Respect to AI to help GCs think through and manage AI-related risks. Here are five of my favorites:

• “Do we have a formal structure or policy for board-level oversight of AI risk and opportunity?
• Do I understand where and how AI is being used across the company—in products, operations, disclosures, or customer interactions?
• Are we monitoring relevant regulatory developments (EU, US Federal and state, FTC, DOJ, EEOC, other global AI laws)?
• Are we prepared to defend how our AI models work in the event of litigation or regulatory inquiry?
• Do we have a plan in place for AI-specific disclosure mandates?”

Good AI risk management requires transparency and good governance. Organizations should empower GCs to ask hard questions and get straight answers. Understanding the big picture of your organization’s AI use allows GCs to see the entire field of risks and mitigate them. Even seemingly innocuous AI use can present legal risks, so it’s important for GCs to be in the loop on all AI implementation. Weil’s list of key questions is a valuable tool that helps GCs fill in their blind spots and promote effective AI risk management. Weil offers a variety of other AI resources that you can find here.