AI Security Tips: Best Practices in the Workplace

Ensuring AI is safe and beneficial for content creation

Have you ever found yourself wishing for ways to create content faster? Integrating cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) tools may just be your answer, but with great convenience comes significant responsibility. While AI tools can be a huge asset, they can also open the door to security risks and other challenges if not handled properly. 

The good news? With a few simple precautions and best practices, you can harness AI’s potential while keeping your work environment secure and ethical. In this post, we’ll dive into some easy-to-follow tips for using AI safely at work so you can enjoy all the benefits without the headaches.

Using AI responsibly

When used responsibly, AI is a powerful tool for streamlining tasks and sparking ideas, but it shouldn’t replace human creativity. Think of it as your personal assistant—great for drafts, outlines, or writing tips. You should still continuously refine and review the content to ensure it matches your brand and resonates with your audience. 

Setting clear guidelines and protocols is the best way to ensure responsible AI use. That’s where the importance of having an AI policy comes in. Think of it as the framework that helps your business use AI safely, responsibly, and effectively. It’s like a roadmap that ensures you get the most out of AI without cutting corners or risking your reputation. 

Need help getting started? Check out our e-book, Beginner’s Guide To Drafting an AI Policy. 

Common AI security risks and how to avoid them

AI is transforming the workplace by streamlining processes, boosting productivity, and improving decision-making. From chatbots to predictive analytics, AI is reshaping industries. 

However, like any new technology, AI brings risks. If not used correctly, it can lead to mistakes that impact productivity, security, and the work environment. Let’s check out actionable tips to stay informed and avoid common AI-related mishaps.

1. Data privacy and security concerns

One of the most significant risks of using AI at work is related to data privacy and security. AI systems often rely on large amounts of data collected to learn, predict, and make decisions. This data can include sensitive employee information, customer details, and business-critical data. If AI tools are not properly secured or if data is mishandled, it could lead to data breaches of confidentiality, identity theft, or financial loss.

How to lower this risk:

• Implement strong security measures: To protect data from unauthorized access, use encrypted communication channels, secure cloud storage solutions, and multi-factor authentication.
• Regularly audit AI systems: Regularly conduct audits of AI tools and systems to ensure compliance with data protection regulations (such as GDPR or CCPA) and ensure they are up to date with the latest security patches.
• Limit data access: Ensure only authorized personnel can access sensitive data. Implement role-based access controls to restrict who can input and retrieve data from AI systems.

2. Bias and discrimination

AI systems learn from data; if the training data is biased, it can perpetuate or amplify those biases. This is particularly concerning in recruitment, performance evaluations, and decision-making processes. 

For instance, AI-powered hiring tools trained on historical data may unintentionally favor specific demographics over others, leading to discriminatory practices. This could have severe implications for workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion.

How to lower this risk:

• Audit and cleanse data: Ensure the data used to train AI models is as diverse and unbiased as possible. Regularly audit your data for biases and cleanse it before feeding it into AI systems.
• Test AI tools for fairness: Use AI auditing tools to test the fairness and neutrality of AI systems, particularly in sensitive areas like hiring or performance assessments.
• Incorporate human oversight: While AI can assist in decision-making, ensure there is always human oversight, especially in critical decisions such as hiring, promotions, and disciplinary actions. Human judgment is essential for identifying potential biases that AI might overlook.

3. Lack of transparency and accountability

Consumers are more aware than ever of AI’s role in content creation, so transparency is crucial. If AI has played a significant role in decision-making or producing your content, be upfront about it. Being honest with your audience builds trust and shows you prioritize authenticity and integrity in your communications. Ensuring accountability for its actions is difficult without understanding how AI makes decisions, especially when things go wrong.

How to lower this risk:

• Ensure explainability: Work with AI tools that offer transparent, explainable processes. This means using AI systems that allow you to understand why a particular decision was made and ensure that it aligns with your company’s values and goals.
• Create clear accountability structures: Assign clear responsibility for AI decisions within the organization. Ensure that humans are ultimately accountable for AI-driven decisions and writing strategies, mainly when mistakes or misunderstandings occur.
• Establish AI governance: Implement a governance framework for AI systems to ensure the ethical and responsible use of AI within your organization. This includes guidelines for transparency, accountability, and regular reviews of AI performance

4. Intellectual property and ownership issues

When using AI tools to create content—such as automated reports, marketing copy, or designs—there may be concerns around intellectual property (IP) and who owns generative AI. Is the content created by AI owned by the company or the AI provider? Or, in the case of third-party input, who has the rights to the output?

How to lower this risk:

• Clarify ownership agreements: When integrating AI tools into your business, ensure clear agreements regarding ownership of the content or data generated by AI systems.
• Review contracts and terms: Pay close attention to the terms and conditions of AI software vendors to ensure that you retain full ownership of any content or intellectual property produced using their tools.

AI security best practices

Now that you’re familiar with the risks, let’s look at what proactive teams can do to stay ahead of potential threats. It’s time to start thinking beyond basic defense. The key is embedding AI security into your organization’s culture from the ground up. 

1. Choose vendors with strong security credentials

Before jumping in and introducing new technology into your organization’s workflow, it’s important to vet your vendors carefully. Look for tools that are SOC 2 compliant, ISO 27001 certified, or meet other relevant security standards. A little due diligence up front will save massive headaches down the road. 

2. Train employees on ethical AI use

Technology is only as secure as the people using it. That’s why it’s crucial to provide regular, up-to-date training for your team on how to use AI tools safely, spot red flags, and avoid accidental security breaches. 

3. Keep your AI tools and policies up to date

Like all technologies, AI is constantly evolving. With that comes an onslaught of new risks. To minimize the threats, schedule regular audits of your tools, policies, and procedures to keep pace with emerging threats and technological advancements. Outdated systems are one of the biggest risks to your security. 

4. Separate AI environments from core systems

It’s never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket. By isolating your AI tools from the regular infrastructure, such as the HR database or financial systems, you reduce the impact of a particular breach. Think of it as building security zones within your digital workplace. 

5. Log everything and review often

Monitoring your system is essential. But it only works if you do it consistently. That means maintaining detailed logs of which tools are used, who used them, and when. Be sure to review these logs regularly. This type of visibility will help detect unusual activity and increase compliance.

How to ensure your AI tools are safe and reliable for content creation

Before integrating AI into your content strategy, it’s essential to ensure that the AI apps you’re considering are safe and reliable. While AI tools can make the content process faster and more efficient, they come with risks. Use this checklist to ensure your brand stays protected and your content is up to standard.

Encryption: Make sure data is encrypted both when it’s stored and when it’s being transferred so no one can access it without permission.

Access control: Limit who can access the AI systems and the data. Only the right people should be able to view or edit sensitive information.

Data minimization: Collect only the data you need. Avoid storing unnecessary information to reduce the risk of a breach.

Regular audits: Regularly check your AI systems to ensure everything works as expected and complies with security standards.

Real-time monitoring: Set up systems to monitor AI behavior in real-time, especially in customer-facing or critical areas, so you can quickly catch any irregularities.

Anomaly detection: Use tools that automatically flag unusual behavior or security threats to avoid potential issues.

Bias checks: Regularly check your AI for bias, especially in decisions like hiring or performance reviews, to avoid unfair outcomes.

Transparency: Use AI that is easy to understand and explain. When decisions are made, it should be clear how and why they happened.

Set clear guidelines: Establish ethical rules for using AI and ensure everyone knows how to use it responsibly and securely.

Moving forward safely with responsible AI use

AI can be an invaluable tool for content creation, boosting efficiency and creativity while lightening the load of many content teams. However, to harness its power responsibly, it’s essential to apply human oversight, maintain ethical standards, and ensure quality control. By using AI as a complementary tool, not a replacement, you can create high-quality content that resonates, informs, and engages with your brand without compromising its integrity.

Are you ready to safely and responsibly incorporate AI into your content strategy? Learn more about AI and Articulate’s AI Assistant.