A number of guidance documents have been developed to help organisations mitigate the risks and concerns described in this course and use GenAI ethically and responsibly. Some of this guidance is listed below.
However, in general there are four main principles which underpin the guidance offered.
Click on each of the tiles below to learn more.
Active content not displayed. This content requires JavaScript to be enabled.
Show description|Hide description1. Fairness involves mitigating bias in the GenAI outputs and ensuring the tools act uniformly for different groups of people. When using third party GenAI tools, this will involve trying to ensure the tool chosen has selected the training data in a balanced and representative way with proper checks and guardrails in place. Regular audits of the outputs can help identify where there may be concerns. It is also necessary to check and evaluate the output of the tool (the so-called ‘human in the loop’ approach that we discuss later) to ensure accuracy and fairness. For companies developing their own GenAI tools, the training data must be balanced by age, gender, race and any other relevant factor to the task it is being asked to do. It is also important that the team developing the tool is diverse and balanced and reflects different viewpoints. 2. Transparency involves being clear and open with clients and employees where GenAI is being used. Organisations should also make clear the risks and limitations of the tool being used and ensure there are appropriate disclaimers explaining what the tool should not be used for. It also involves making it clear when GenAI output is being used. 3. Accountability means that the organisation remains accountable and responsible for the outputs of the tool being used. It is therefore necessary to have processes in place to evaluate and check the outputs to ensure their accuracy, particularly in light of the hallucinations that can occur when using them for legal advice and information. This could involve a ‘human in the loop’ and regular audits of the system. It also involves having a process so that errors or negative impacts are reported promptly, any concerns are addressed and there is a process for redress. 4. Compliance ensures that the system is being used lawfully and complies with professional requirements. This could include a policy which ensures users do not input copyright or confidential information into the tool and cybersecurity measures to ensure the system is secure.
Interactive feature not available in single page view (
see it in standard view).
Professional standards
Timing: Allow 15 minutes
By signing in and enrolling on this course you can view and complete all activities within the course, track your progress in My OpenLearn Create. and when you have completed a course, you can download and print a free Statement of Participation - which you can use to demonstrate your learning.
Further reading
If you are interested in finding out more about GenAI guidance, you can also look at the following documents:
Government Digital Service – Artificial Intelligence Playbook for the UK Government (HTML).
USA guidance to the American Bar – ABA Ethics Opinion on Generative AI Offers Useful Framework.
Australian guidance for solicitors – A solicitor’s guide to responsible use of artificial intelligence.
Indian guidance – India’s Advance on AI Regulation.
This is a rapidly developing area. Since this course was written there may be other guidance and policies published that are relevant, for example by the government, professional regulators or other organisations.
Ethical and responsible use of Generative AI principles and guidance
Timing: Allow 15 minutes
Using a general internet search engine, carry out a search for ‘ethical and responsible use of Generative AI principles and guidance’. You may need to narrow your search by including terms such as ‘UK government’ ‘Law Society’ or ‘Solicitors Regulation Authority’.
Has any new guidance been issued? If so, read the guidance. Does it include anything new, or change any of the suggestions you already have made?
To use this interactive functionality a free OU account is required.
Sign in or register.
Interactive feature not available in single page view (
see it in standard view).
Discussion
In light of the rapid changes in technology and regulation in this area, you may need to repeat this exercise every year to ensure that both you and your organisation are complying with relevant regulators’ guidance and best practice.
Having considered some of the ways in which organisations can mitigate against the ethical risks presented by GenAI, this course will now consider one of the most important suggestions: the human in the loop.
