As the future of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to unfold, leading companies are acknowledging the critical role of legal departments in preventing misuse of AI tools. Generative AI, a form of artificial intelligence that leverages machine learning techniques to produce content, is becoming ubiquitous–driving profound societal and industrial shift.
J. Scott Evans, Adobe’s Senior Director and Associate General Counsel, provides a potent reason why significant attention must be paid to ‘building guardrails’ for AI. “It’s a company’s responsibility”, Evans stated during a discussion with Corporate Counsel. Reiterating that this task could not be performed in a siloed fashion and necessitates cross-departmental collaboration.
“You need to bring in your HR department, your procurement department, your operations team. You need to find out if there are teams that have operational heads within their team and bring all of those together; that’s how you build guardrails,” Evans explained.
Evans further emphasized Adobe’s proactive role in protecting artists against the potential misuse of their work through AI for commercial purposes. This holistic framework that Adobe is endorsing can serve as a blueprint for other corporations, ensuring AI advances serve a broad benefit while limiting potential misuse.