Keith Markel, Alana Mildner and Jessica Lipson Publish Article on AI and Employee Privacy, the Second in Their Reuters Series

Keith Markel, Alana R. Mildner and Jessica L. Lipson published a second article in their series for Reuters that explores how artificial intelligence intersects with and impacts employment-related matters. In “AI and Employee Privacy: Important Considerations for Employers,” the authors discussed AI’s potential to provide employers with fast workarounds to tasks that would otherwise take human employees much longer to complete, but cautioned employers against sharing data with AI applications for several reasons, including privacy concerns.

The authors explained that, based on the current state of employment and privacy laws in the U.S., employers must be careful to protect employee data, including potentially sensitive information pertaining to employees' medical conditions, health histories and biometric data.

The authors also suggested exercising caution when using “open” AI systems such as ChatGPT and Bard, since the information entered “might be shared with another unintended user and retained in the AI's neural network, potentially in perpetuity, to be used for further training of the system.”

As AI technologies are still evolving, “they must be closely monitored and work product produced reviewed carefully. Although AI systems can be useful and efficient tools for certain purposes, they should not replace HR professionals and legal counsel entrusted with handling employee data and addressing important workplace communication.”

Read the full article here.