Episode description

In this fifth episode of our “In Conversation…” podcast series for 2024, Lucy is joined by fellow Lewis Silkin partners and co-heads of the Data, Privacy and Cyber Group, Alexander Milner-Smith and Bryony Long.

 In this fascinating conversation, Alex and Bryony discuss a variety of emerging technologies, their use cases in the workplace and the potential legal and people-related risks that might arise. Some of these technologies are ones that many businesses are already exploring, such as the metaverse and ChatGPT. But Alex and Bryony also look ahead to evolving technologies such as neurotech, biometrics, empathic and semantic AI, and explore their potential impact on the workplace and what that might mean for workforce trust. 

They also suggest some practical steps employers can take to make the most of these transformational technologies while also minimising the people and data risks. Lastly, Lucy talks to Alex and Bryony about how businesses can navigate an increasingly complex and evolving regulatory landscape, both in the UK and around the globe.  

Key takeaways 

• Bring employees on the journey. Businesses are increasingly seen as more trusted than government to lead on innovation and implement AI technologies ethically and responsibly. To mitigate employee concerns and build trust when introducing new technologies: communicate clearly with the workforce, particularly about organisational and individual benefits and efficiencies; be transparent about the reasons behind adopting the technology; train employees on how to use new technologies responsibly; give assurances on the impact of new technology on the workforce and people’s jobs. 
• Be clear on your use case. Using AI or other emerging tech just because everyone else is using it or because of a fear of being left behind, is not a good reason to adopt technologies. Identify a business need, engage with the workforce to help identify problems or challenges that need to be solved, and when considering solutions, consider the role of AI alongside other alternatives.  
• Don’t act in a silo. When adopting emerging tech, particularly AI, this is multi-jurisdictional and multi-departmental. Do not act in isolation. Ensure organisational cross-collaboration to enable far better deployment of technology, both from a risk perspective, but also a trust perspective.
• Take steps to mitigate risk. To mitigate employment risks of discrimination and bias, it is essential to carry out initial due diligence on any new the technology, and then test it on an ongoing basis throughout the life cycle of the project. To mitigate data risks when deploying technology, key factors include explainability and transparency, identifying a lawful basis, fairness, security and accountability.