You want your clients to trust you, and being transparent through an AI use declaration is one way to foster that trust. The truth is, you use AI in some or most of your workflows. Your clients already know this, because they use AI too. In fact, they are probably wondering how you use AI. So if you are not telling them, they can make their own assumptions that may not be true.

Trust is built on being transparent about how you use AI.

What is an AI use declaration?

An AI use declaration is sometimes called an AI disclaimer, AI disclosure, AI notice, or an AI statement. They are different flavours of the same thing. Essentially, an AI use declaration helps you clearly communicate to the outside world when you have an AI system interacting on your behalf. Or, when you use AI to deliver goods or services to your clients. This is not a detailed log showing every intervention where AI is involved. It’s more a general statement acknowledging that you use AI responsibly, describing how you use AI, and noting when you use it and when you don’t.  

Why have an AI use declaration?

Having an AI use declaration promotes responsible AI governance. Many AI governance regulations name transparency as a core principle. For example, the OECD AI principles list transparency as one of the principles for trustworthy AI. The UNESCO Recommendation on AI Ethics, the EU AI Act, and even the King Code on corporate governance name transparency as a core principle. Having an AI use declaration is the most basic form of this transparency. 

An AI use declaration promotes transparency.

In some instances, having an AI use declaration is required by law. For example, Article 50 of the EU AI Act requires providers to make AI-generated content detectable and for deployers to label certain types of AI-generated content. In South Africa, the Consumer Protection Act aims to promote access to, and the quality of, the information necessary so consumers can make an informed choice. There are many instances where disclosure may be required by law,  but beyond compliance, you want to have an AI use declaration because it’s actually good AI governance practice.

Does declaring that I use AI damage credibility?

There are many studies wanting to answer this question. The results are mixed because AI use is treated differently across sectors, and expectations vary. For example, in academia, Bahammam found that disclosing AI use may decrease the credibility of academic papers. For organisations, studies found that disclosing AI can lead to higher trust if it’s done right. This may be because organisations are expected to innovate and provide better goods or services in the ever-evolving digital market. What clients care most about is that AI is used responsibly and to their benefit. More importantly, being exposed by someone else for using AI has a bigger negative effect than voluntarily disclosing it yourself.

How to disclose AI use

How you disclose your AI use is as important as declaring it. For example, the wrong framing can lead to confusion about how you use AI, which can lead to a loss of trust. What you want your AI use declaration to communicate to promote trust are three important things.

  1. Declare that you use AI responsibly and how.
  2. Describe the use cases that benefit your clients.
  3. Discuss the measures you put into place to mitigate AI risks.

You can say a lot more if you want, but the idea is not to list every aspect of your AI use. Rather, you want someone who might have been thinking, I wonder how they use AI, to read your declaration and have a clear picture of how.

Michalsons can help you draft a good AI use declaration.

We can help you draft an AI use declaration

We understand that AI governance has a lot of moving pieces. This can sometimes make it difficult to understand what applies to you and when. An AI use declaration is for every organisation. Big, small, or whether the organisation is AI-native, or using AI for low-risk, repetitive automation tasks. You need to have one. We have one too. You can read about how we use AI on our AI use declaration for Michalsons. If you want one, reach out to us, and we would be happy to help you.Â