What is an AI Note Taker?
AI note takers are advanced tools that utilise artificial intelligence (AI) to transcribe and summarise the content of meetings in real-time. These digital assistants can listen to conversations, identify key points, and produce comprehensive notes, ensuring that nothing important is missed. They are designed to help streamline workflows, making it easier for team members to focus on the discussion rather than on taking notes.
Risks Associated with AI Note Takers
While AI note takers offer numerous benefits, there are also several risks to consider:
• Lack of Understanding: Organisations may implement these tools without fully understanding their implications, leading to unexpected issues. For instance, they might not understand the risks associated with open AI, resulting in the unintended exposure of confidential meeting notes.
• Data Privacy: Recording and storing conversations can raise privacy concerns, especially with sensitive information. For instance, confidential business strategies discussed in meetings could be exposed if not properly secured.
• Accuracy: Errors in transcription may still occur, causing misunderstandings. For example, an AI might misinterpret a client's name or important figures, leading to incorrect data usage.
• Bias: AI systems might reflect biases from their training data, affecting fairness and inclusivity. An example is an AI that predominantly recognises male voices over female voices, skewing meeting summaries.
• Security: Digital meeting data is vulnerable to unauthorised access and cyber threats. Hackers could intercept meeting recordings containing sensitive negotiations or customer data.
When It Goes Wrong…
A UK based company had a confidential meeting discussing upcoming changes to the company structure. Someone in the meeting introduced an AI Note Taker and this was not challenged. At the end of the meeting, the notes, through a poorly implemented AI tool, were shared with a much wider audience resulting in the confidential information being made public within that business.
Statement on the Use of AI Note Takers
Considering the potential risks associated with AI note takers, it is important to establish clear policies regarding their use:
• Internal use - any AI Notes Takers should go through existing privacy processes before being used.
• External use - If you join a meeting with an AI note taker, request that a transparency notice is provided, explaining how the AI will be used, what data will be collected, and how it will be stored. If the meeting organiser cannot provide this transparency notice, its use should be discontinued immediately to protect the privacy and security of all participants.
