Over half of businesses don’t have an AI policy

Despite the use of AI continuing to grow, a new survey shows that worryingly, over half of firms don’t have an AI policy in place.

This could put businesses at risk of serious breaches.

Lack of AI policies

The latest research from employment law and HR specialists, WorkNest, surveyed 500 employers and HR professionals and found that the majority (54%) admitted to not having a formal policy in place to oversee AI use in the workplace.

Another 24% said that they are currently in the process of developing one.

Just 13% said they had AI rules in place.

According to the report, businesses are simply struggling to keep up with how quickly AI is developing and finding itself in the workplace.

AI concerns

Respondents were asked what their biggest concerns were around the use of AI.

The results show:

• Data protection and privacy risks (cited by 41%)
• Misinformation or inaccurate outputs (30%)
• Legal or compliance challenges (16%)
• Overreliance (11%)

Just 3% said they didn’t have any concerns about AI in the workplace at all.

The risks of not having an AI policy in place

With so many workplaces now using AI, such as ChatGPT, not having a formal policy in place to govern rules surrounding AI use can pose significant risks.

These include:

• Data protection
• Compliance
• Reputation

Alice Brackenridge, Employment Law Advisor at WorkNest, explained that employers need to be aware that they are fully responsible for all workplace decisions influenced by AI – even if they are using third-party tools.

The risks that come from using AI when there is no policy in place could result in costly legal battles that could have been avoided.

To find out more about contracting, please contact Jaime on 01442 795 100 or email jaime.thorpe@dolanaccountancy.com.