CCC recently reached out to experienced legal professionals to gain a better understanding of the ways in which they are incorporating tools with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into their everyday workflows, as well as how they are updating copyright policies and procedures with respect to AI.
The following is based on an interview we conducted with John A. Zevitas, Vice President and Managing Legal Counsel at T. Rowe Price.
CCC: How prevalent is the use of AI applications at T. Rowe Price? What kinds of use cases are you seeing?
Zevitas: While the popularity of AI is relatively new, AI is not new to T. Rowe Price. Since 2017 we have been building capabilities in Data Science, Machine Learning, and Predictive Models in support of our Investments, Sales, and Marketing associates. Our approach has always been that of “Intelligent Augmentation” (and not automation): enabling our Subject Market Experts by providing them additional data points for their decision making.
When it comes to the newest type of AI, generative AI, we see the potential that it has to unlock significant productivity gains. Specifically, having Large Language Models (LLMs) in mind, we have developed a framework of 3 high-level classes of interactions users can have with content:
The 3 C’s of Content:
- Consumption: information extraction, summarization, Q&A, translation, etc., of various types of text that associates need to consume (research papers, legal and regulatory documents, etc.)
- Creation: new content created based on conversation and user instructions, e.g., emails, presentations, reports, request for proposals, etc.
- Characterization: extraction of insights by quantifying attributes of a text corpus—e.g., sentiment; or comparison/change in text corpus—e.g., topics discussed in filings this year that were not discussed last year.
CCC: Has the adoption of AI at your organization changed how you approach/administer your compliance policy? What are additional considerations around copyright with respect to AI?
Zevitas: AI is a groundbreaking innovation that has the potential to transform how we create and interact with content. However, it also carries significant risks, particularly concerning clients, content owners, and the broader community.
At T. Rowe Price, we adopt a thoughtful and measured approach to AI. As part of our efforts, we have established a Steering Committee and an AI Center of Excellence to oversee our use and deployment strategy and ensure alignment with best practices for responsible and ethical usage.
Regarding copyright, T. Rowe Price fully appreciates and respects the rights of third-party content owners. We recognize that AI heightens the risk of improper use of third-party content and the likelihood of creating infringing content. Therefore, we have strategically enhanced existing controls and devised new measures to mitigate these risks and protect third-party copyright owners’ interests.
CCC: How are you helping employees understand the implications of using copyrighted content with AI applications?
Zevitas: Employee awareness of the risk of AI, including the copyright concerns around leveraging third party content during the training and deployment stages of AI systems, is a top priority. We are fostering awareness through building appropriate training curriculums, job aids, checkpoints, notices, policies, and other controls that educate users of AI about the several stages of usage lifecycle.
CCC: How does the Annual Copyright License with internal AI rights benefit your organization?
Zevitas: The Annual Copyright License, inclusive of internal AI rights, has the ability to accelerate and mature our ability to explore and deploy AI systems that could enable productivity gains for content consumption use cases.
For example, this enhancement may allow for more efficient summarization of sets or articles and the extraction of pertinent information. These use cases extend beyond departmental boundaries and can be applied throughout the enterprise, which makes the inclusion of internal AI rights in the Annual Copyright license a notable expansion of the license.
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