This seminar covers AI/ML governance, regulation, and the impact of data protection laws and other regulatory frameworks.
Artificial intelligence (AI) was first conceptualised in the 1950s and has gone through successive rounds of “boom” and “bust” periods. The current boom has arisen, in part, due to advances in machine learning which have caught the public imagination. There have been some seemingly amazing successes, for example, through the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) which allow for a human-like ability to process natural language, as well as some spectacular failures, for example, in how LLMs are prone to “hallucinations”, where they “create” facts or information that apparently does not exist. In short, while AI and machine learning shows great promise to benefit mankind, it also carries risks that it may fail in unexpected ways.
One key distinguishing factor in the current rise of AI as compared with previous advances is in the use of large amounts of data to train and use AI models. This has given rise to concerns that data, and especially individuals’ personal data, may be used or misused in a manner that may cause harm to individuals and society at large. Challenges with understanding how AI and machine learning work only serve to increase the apparent risk and level of alarm over the use of AI.
Organisations seeking to use AI, perhaps together with their own databases, are thus faced not only with the technical difficulties of how to integrate AI into their processes and systems, but also legal and governance challenges in the process of developing and implementing an AI solution.
This seminar broadly examines the interaction of AI and key legal and regulatory frameworks and considers how an appropriate approach to governance and accountability may assist organisations to better understand the risks and better realise the opportunities afforded by AI. Some of the topics that will be covered include:
- Key features of AI and how they may create risks for organisations and individuals.
- Requirements of data protection law relating to the use of AI.
- Governance of AI and the role of data ethics in addressing AI-related risk.
- Legal and non-legal approaches to governing the use of AI.
Speaker: David N. Alfred
