Legal And Security Experts Say AI Notetakers Have Big Downsides — And Could Even Get You In Legal Trouble

Yahoo

2 days ago

Lately, the new attendee to your meeting is likely an artificially intelligent notetaker.
In the past two years, AI notetakers have spawned everywhere. Google, Microsoft, Otter.ai and many other firms pitch their AI notetakers as the most convenient way to 'boost meeting productivity,' as Google claims, by quickly recapping key points of what was said and what should be done next if you let them join your meeting.
But do you really want these bots as your guests at your next meeting? The main problem with these tools is how often they can be inaccurate ― and yet they can create a lasting record that may one day be used against you.
'AI programs are designed to give you an answer, not the answer,' explained Erica Wilson, a Fisher Phillips lawyer who advises businesses on using AI notetakers.
When I used Google's AI notetaker, Gemini, for my team's monthly brainstorm, I noticed the AI-generated transcript assigned me stories I didn't agree to write, which could have created headaches if I didn't double-check its work. Even Gemini itself warned me in its summary that I 'should review Gemini's notes to make sure they're accurate,' which, for me, defeats the convenience of using it in the first place.
AI has a known problem of making stuff up, or having 'hallucinations,' as researchers call it. In worst cases, these hallucinations could lead to lawsuits, as people may now believe you said something you didn't. Wilson outlined a nightmare scenario of an AI notetaker horribly interpreting someone's words and having that transcript stay in inboxes.
'This information would be discoverable in a lawsuit,' she said.
In other words, if you or the company get sued because an employee believes that meeting was really important for their case, your inaccurate AI-generated meeting notes might become a huge problem.
You might think you can focus on the meeting, because your AI notetaker is going to transcribe it for you. But with that time you spend using the AI notetaker, you also will now have to budget time for reviewing 'the transcript and the summary before you send it out to everybody to make sure that it's not wildly wrong. And at that point, have we defeated the purpose of increasing our productivity by having the note taker?' Wilson asked.
Besides the inaccuracy headaches, there is also the issue of consent. Many programs, like Google's Gemini, announce the presence of an AI notetaker through icons and a text disclosure, but not all do, depending on the AI notetaker you use. With some, you might not even know they are in the meeting with you.
'You have some software programs where people are sending AI agents to attend meetings on their behalf, and they don't necessarily all announce that they are not actually that person,' Wilson said.
Using an AI notetaker that records and generates transcripts of what was said without people's consent could potentially be illegal. There are at least 10 states, including California, Florida, Illinois and Massachusetts, that require 'all-party consent' for recording, meaning everyone on the call must agree to be recorded.
If these privacy and legal downsides are not enough to dissuade you, at the very least, give everyone a heads-up that you are bringing an AI notetaker as your plus-one.
At a bare minimum, this general disclosure would happen before you start using it and would involve letting participants know 'how it's being recorded and how that information is going to be used,' Wilson said.
And it would let people opt out of the meeting if they don't want to be in a room with an AI notetaker, too. Or better yet: You might decide to assign a human notetaker instead, so that person who is uncomfortable with an AI notetaker can still attend the meeting.
It's clear why the companies behind these AI notetakers want us to use their services at meetings: For one, our chattering helps to train their AI products.
Language learning models are running out of fresh human-generated data needed to grow, and there are an estimated 55 million work meetings in America per day that could become a never-ending AI training source. But it's less clear why we should readily follow these tech firms' leads and use AI to document every moment of our corporate lives.
Wilson said AI notetakers could be useful in large 50-person all-hands meetings where not everyone is expected to contribute, but become more of a legal issue in smaller group settings where people are expected to share. She said that if you want to add one to your next meeting, you should consider, 'Is this really collaborative? Are we really getting use out of it, or are we just using it for the sake of using it? And for the people who are uncomfortable with it, do we have meaningful alternatives?'
Know that no one enjoys being surveilled, and AI notetakers can change our behavior for the worse. I've noticed that in meetings where I see one is present, I will be more cautious about my wording and speak less overall.
'If people are less willing to speak freely or candidly or honestly, if they feel like they can't try out new ideas or make mistakes, that's a real cost,' said Susan McGregor, a researcher at Columbia University's Data Science Institute. 'Especially in an environment where people at least say that they value innovation and creativity ... How are you going to do that if you're concerned that a misstep or a misstatement in a live meeting might be permanently inscribed?'
She makes a compelling case for the value of simply taking notes yourself.
McGregor said some people may use these AI tools 'to avoid having to prioritize' what actually matters about a meeting, but that's what note-taking is all about. When done well, note-taking teaches you to synthesize and make relevant connections about what was said, so you can decide what is best to do next.
And if you miss a meeting, you could simply ask a human who was there for help instead of an AI notetaker. They could tell you, 'watch out, chapter six is going to be on the midterm,' McGregor said as an example. 'That is a meaningful, prioritized, synthesized summary.'
Ultimately, you can choose to endure all the legal and psychological headaches and use an AI notetaker, or you can simply use your own brain to start typing in a document, stress-free, about key points. I know which one I'll be choosing for my next meeting.
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