Artificial intelligence is moving quickly from an emerging technology to an everyday business tool. Employees use AI to draft documents, analyze information, summarize meetings, evaluate performance, and answer questions.
For businesses, the opportunity is significant. Unfortunately, so are the legal questions.
When AI joins the conversation
AI note takers are a good example. An AI-powered meeting assistant can listen to a conversation, generate a transcript, and produce a useful summary in minutes.
But consider a meeting between company executives and their lawyers. Traditionally, the conversation might have involved only the people in the room. Now, an AI tool may be listening, recording and transmitting the discussion to a third-party platform.
Where is the recording stored? Who can access it? How long is it retained? Could the transcript ultimately become part of litigation?
The presence of an AI tool does not automatically eliminate attorney-client privilege. But unnecessary disclosure of a confidential conversation can create legitimate privilege concerns.
It is essential that businesses know when AI note takers are appropriate — and when they should be turned off.
When confidentiality requires a new level of awareness
The same principle applies when employees upload confidential information into an “open” AI platform. Uploading a contract for summary, financial information for analysis, or proprietary material to generate a document can be incredibly productive. However, it also can mean that the contract is available to the large language model for training, and that its contents could be made available to other users.
Businesses should establish and communicate clear rules about what information can be shared with what AI tools.
When AI enters the performance review
AI is also beginning to influence how businesses manage employees. A manager can use AI to summarize accomplishments, organize feedback or draft a performance review.
Used thoughtfully, reviews can become more consistent. But in addition to the confidentiality concerns, AI can also introduce bias — positive or negative.
Businesses should not attempt to “outsource” good judgment. Managers still need to understand the facts, apply consistent standards and take responsibility for employment decisions. AI can help frame a review, but it never should become the reviewer.
What happens to the business of law?
The legal profession is likely facing a significant transformation. General-purpose and legal-specific AI models, both open and closed, are being used for research, contract review, discovery drafting, and other legal tasks.
The efficiency gains can be enormous. But if a task that once required five hours can be completed in one hour, what happens to the value of that work?
Law firms continue to face rising costs for people, technology and cybersecurity, while clients reasonably expect to benefit from greater efficiency. Some traditional work may decline, while new opportunities emerge in AI implementation, cybersecurity, data management, intellectual property and compliance.
The lawyer’s job is to “make the client’s life easier.” At the moment, AI provides both significant benefits and challenges in this regard.
Data centers become the front line of the AI debate
One significant ripple effect is the connection between AI and data center development.
AI requires enormous computing capacity, and computing capacity requires electricity. The debate over AI increasingly becomes a debate over data centers, power generation and the electric grid.
Communities have questions about land use, construction, water usage, noise, and transmission infrastructure. Utilities and grid operators must serve rapidly growing demand while maintaining reliability and managing costs.
Uncertain power availability, lengthy permitting, transmission requirements, and community opposition can increase costs and delay development.
For Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh region, the economic opportunity created by AI will depend, in part, on whether we can build and sustain the infrastructure needed to support it.
Preparing for what comes next
AI will continue to change faster than the rules and regulations surrounding it.
For business leaders, the question is not whether AI will change the way we work. It already has. The question is how well we will adapt to the changing business environment.
Companies that embrace AI thoughtfully — understanding where it can create real business value while managing the risks and the costs — will be better positioned to adapt, compete and grow in the years ahead.
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Reprinted with permission from the Pittsburgh Business Times.
