Generative AI: A Whole New Consideration For Compliance

AI is reshaping how businesses operate, and organisations should be looking to AI solutions to improve operations and drive innovation. In the last few years, generative AI has seen an explosion in growth. The promise of increased productivity and its wide-ranging use cases has seen the technology climb high on the agenda for organisations around the world. 

According to McKinsey’s annual survey of global executives, a third of respondents said that their organisation was using AI for at least one business function. Meanwhile, 40% stated that they would increase their overall investment in AI due to advancements in generative AI. But, as with any emerging technology, there inevitably comes risk. Namely in the form of legal and regulatory compliance.  

At MDRx we are experts in AI, including natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML). We work within many different industries to create world-leading business solutions for organisations across the globe. We use our expertise in business, tech and law to create groundbreaking AI solutions to transform business.  

So how do generative AI and regulatory compliance fit together? And what do you need to consider when implementing AI into your business strategy? Let us explain. 

First of all, what do we mean by generative AI?

Generative AI is a form of artificial intelligence that can generate new ideas and content including text, images, video and more from human prompts. This type of AI falls under a specialised subset of machine learning known as ‘deep learning’. It works in a manner designed to mimic the human brain, using a neural network to function.   

Put simply, AI is fed vast amounts of data and code that it absorbs to then produce completely new and original content. It does so by identifying patterns in the data before producing similar patterns independently. Adopted by professionals operating across various industries, generative AI is fast becoming a key component of digital business generation and development. 

Adhering to legal and regulatory compliance is a defining factor in generative AI’s path to becoming a trusted technology, beyond the initial hype. A technology that can be fully integrated into business operations in a way that customers and regulators can feel safe about using. To unlock the full potential of AI, businesses must see past the initial arms race. Instead, firms should be looking ahead to how AI and regulatory compliance can work together to set them on the path to greater business success. 

What do businesses need to consider with AI and regulatory compliance?

Data privacy and security

With bad actors looking to exploit security weaknesses and increasingly stricter data laws, data protection has never been more critical for your business. When incorporating generative AI into your company’s digital strategy through innovative software engineering, data compliance must be considered from the very beginning. Generative AI requires training on large data sets to work effectively and therefore issues with data protection come into play. This should be considered at every stage of your business’ digital strategy implementation. 

Industry-specific regulation

Different industries have specific regulations that apply to the technology which can become a minefield to navigate. For instance, in healthcare, the use of AI-generated medical diagnoses must adhere to medical regulations. For the financial industry, AI must be compliant with financial regulations. When used in consumer-facing applications like chatbots, organisations must comply with consumer protection laws to ensure that generated content or recommendations are accurate and do not mislead users.  

Transparency and accountability

Compliance requires transparency. Organisations must be able to explain how decisions are made by generative AI and who is accountable for those decisions, or they will find themselves in hot water. This is especially important when the AI-generated outputs impact individuals’ rights or opportunities. Organisations need to be able to clarify liability and establish accountability, especially in the case of errors within the technology. 

Intellectual property

If generative AI has created the content, then who owns it? Addressing this question is essential. As we progress further with AI it will become imperative to clarify ownership and usage rights for content, designs, or other creations generated by AI platforms. 

Machine bias and ethical non-compliance

Businesses must protect against AI outputs that unfairly disadvantage or target a certain demographic or group. Failure to do so can lead to harmful consequences. For example, images created by text-to-image AI generator Stable Diffusion were found to be perpetuating harmful gender and racial stereotypes. With generative AI increasingly being used for content creation, this manner of oversight could help reinforce racist and sexist tropes and project a false reality for consumers. Ensuring that relevant data is unbiased is essential to avoid these types of occurrences.  

For business, AI is an extremely powerful tool and one that will only become more essential to business as the technology progresses and evolves. Risk is always going to be present. It is how we deal with the risk that will stand business success and failure. 

How MDRx can help

At MDRx, we are experts in artificial intelligence and machine learning, working globally to innovate businesses for the future. 

As disruptors in the tech space, we help businesses implement cutting-edge technology into their strategy through transformative tech solutions in data science and software engineering, so they embrace the AI future the right way. 

If you would like to find out more about how you can implement generative AI into your business strategy, please get in touch.