Law agency restricts AI after ‘vital’ employees use | EUROtoday

An worldwide legislation agency has blocked normal entry to a number of synthetic intelligence (AI) instruments after it discovered a “significant increase in usage” by its employees.

In an electronic mail seen by the BBC, a senior director of Hill Dickinson, which employs greater than a thousand folks within the UK, warned employees of the usage of AI instruments.

The agency mentioned a lot of the utilization was not according to its AI coverage, and going ahead the agency would solely permit employees to entry the instruments by way of a request course of.

A spokesperson from the Information Commissioner’s Office – the UK’s knowledge watchdog – informed BBC News that corporations mustn’t discourage the usage of AI in work.

The spokesperson added: “With AI offering people countless ways to work more efficiently and effectively, the answer cannot be for organisations to outlaw the use of AI and drive staff to use it under the radar.

“Instead, corporations want to supply their employees AI instruments that meet their organisational insurance policies and knowledge safety obligations.”

In the email, Hill Dickinson’s chief technology officer said the law firm had detected more than 32,000 hits to the popular chatbot ChatGPT over a seven-day period in January and February.

During the same timeframe, there were also more than 3,000 hits to the Chinese AI service DeepSeek, which was recently banned from Australian government devices over security concerns.

It also highlighted almost 50,000 hits to Grammarly, the writing assistance tool.

However, it is not clear on how many occasions staff visited ChatGPT, DeepSeek, or Grammarly, or how many staff visited repeatedly, as several hits could have been generated by a user during every time they used the websites.

The email to Hill Dickinson employees said: “We have been monitoring utilization of Al instruments, notably publicly out there generative Al options, and have observed a major improve in utilization of, and importing of information to, such instruments.”

Hill Dickinson, who have offices in several parts of England and abroad, later told BBC News: “Like many legislation corporations, we’re aiming to positively embrace the usage of AI instruments to reinforce our capabilities whereas all the time making certain secure and correct use by our folks and for our shoppers.”

The firm added that its AI policy, which includes guidance that prohibits the uploading of client information and requires staff to verify the accuracy of the large language models’ responses, will ensure that usage “will stay secure, safe and efficient”.

The firm is now only granting access to AI tools via a request process. It is understood that some requests have already been received and approved.

A spokesperson from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which regulates solicitors in England and Wales, told BBC News: “Despite this elevated curiosity in new expertise, there stays an absence of digital expertise throughout all sectors within the UK.

“This could present a risk for firms and consumers if legal practitioners do not fully understand the new technology that is implemented.”

According to a survey of 500 UK solicitors by authorized software program supplier Clio in September, 62% anticipated a rise in AI utilization over the next 12 months.

It discovered legislation corporations throughout the UK had been utilizing the expertise to finish duties similar to drafting paperwork, reviewing or analysing contracts and authorized analysis.

A Department for Science, Innovation and Technology spokesperson described AI as a “technological leap” that may “free workers from repetitive tasks and unlock more rewarding opportunities”.

They informed BBC News: “We are committed to bringing forward legislation which allows us to safely realise AI’s enormous benefits. We are engaging widely and will launch a public consultation in due course to ensure our approach effectively addresses this fast-evolving technology.”

Additional reporting by Liv McMahon