Event Report

Together with Ashurst, our Global GC Elite Founding Partner, the Legal 500 was delighted to be in Sydney on 23 May to launch the new Global GC Elite Discussion Series.

This chapter of the Series brought together some of Australia’s leading General Counsel for a roundtable discussion on how AI is impacting cybersecurity and data protection, an exceptionally topical subject that has sparked much interest in recent months.

The discussion started with General Counsel detailing their views on the challenges and opportunities AI had generated, acknowledging the speed at which the field is evolving and that we are yet to see the true capabilities of AI. It was also recognised that GCs have a crucial role to play in ensuring AI is implemented in compliance within their organisations.

Some concerns were expressed regarding the peremptory nature of AI-made decisions, and the importance of balancing them with human reviews. This opinion opened exchanges about the ethical use of AI and the development of safeguard processes to protect AI-processed data.

Participants were aware of the risk that AI can potentially be used in deceitful ways, and that every technological breakthrough will often introduce new challenges, but that GCs have always overcome them.

A special thanks to Bruce Macdonald, Sydney Office Managing Partner for hosting the event with Ashurst partners, John Macpherson, Rebecca Cope, Nick Mavrakis, and Narelle Smythe for contributing to the conversation with such insightful knowledge and experience.