AI Governance Agreement: Key Terms, Compliance, Legal Help

What is an AI Governance Agreement?

An AI governance agreement is a document that specifies the rules companies must follow when creating and managing AI systems or tools. This is crucial to ensure privacy, ethical usage, and compliance, preventing financial and legal implications.

Read the rest of this article to learn more about AI governance agreements, what key terms they contain, and how a lawyer can help you draft, review, or negotiate them to ensure your needs are met.

What Terms are Included in an AI Governance Agreement?

An AI governance agreement can contain key components, such as the following:

• Data privacy. It should be specified how data will be used and protected.
• Intellectual property (IP) ownership. The agreement must make it clear who owns all the AI outputs to prevent copyright and other violations.
• Liability and indemnification. The parties need to know how to manage risk, and who is responsible for issues that could arise, such as AI tool failure, errors, or infringement.
• Uses. The agreement should specify what uses are permitted and prohibited with AI.
• Compliance. The terms in the agreement should be aligned with all relevant laws and regulations.
• Decision making. It should be outlined how all AI-related decisions are made, and who has the authority to make them, such as regarding AI development and changes.
• Human monitoring. There should be provisions to ensure that humans are supervising and monitoring the AI tools and how they’re used.
• Third parties. If the company is working with third party AI providers, their services must also be evaluated and monitored.

What Should You Look for in an AI Governance Agreement?

There are various things to ensure are included in an AI governance agreement so that it’s fair and ethical. Here are some to consider.

Stakeholder Involvement

Involving multiple stakeholders in the business, such as policymakers and AI developers, in the drafting and review of your agreement will give you insight into how it matches society’s values. It keeps the agreement current and useful.

Monitoring Processes

The AI tools need to be monitored and updated on a regular basis to minimize errors and biases. The agreement should include processes for how this will be undertaken.

Document Alignment

For consistency, you should check that the AI governance agreement is aligned with other documents in the company. This prevents uncertainty or confusion among employees. Flag any inconsistent information in the agreement so it can be revised.

Feedback Implementation

There should be feedback provisions that enable internal stakeholders to give their thoughts on the AI systems so that any performance issues and errors can be flagged and improved.

Specific Usage

You want clarity on what AI use is allowed, but also check for third party models and how employees are allowed to use public tools.

Accountability

If something goes wrong, such as if the AI tools cause harm, there should be an escalation process for logging issues and improving processes. If there’s anything vague, there’s no real-world protection.

Documentation

It’s good practice for AI usage and performance to be documented by the company. This will be especially beneficial if you require a paper trail during investigations or infringements.

Legal Compliance

To prevent costly and time-consuming legal issues, such as from breaches or violations, you want to ensure that the agreement is aligned with all important rules and regulations. Here’s where a legal review of the contract can help.

You can easily get a review of your AI governance agreement on ContractsCounsel, one of the biggest online legal marketplaces connecting clients with vetted lawyers. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Go to the ContractsCounsel marketplace.

2. Post your request for a legal review for free, including some details of what you need.

3. Wait for lawyer bids. Lawyers will send multiple bids to work with you on your project.

4. Review the lawyers' profiles. Before selecting a lawyer for your requirements, view information about them on their profiles, such as their years of experience and expertise, and client ratings for previous projects completed on the platform.

5. Select the best lawyer for your purposes and hire them.

How Can a Lawyer Help You with an AI Governance Agreement?

Before an AI governance agreement is approved, seeking legal guidance is advisable to help you determine if it’s legal and clear. Here’s how a lawyer can assist you.

• Lawyers will unpack all legal risks in the agreement terms, explaining vague or broad clauses that can be misleading.
• They’ll check liability exposure so you know who is responsible for what specific errors or other things that could go wrong.
• They’ll confirm that the agreement is compliant with all regulations and laws, such as data protection laws.
• They’ll review how well roles are defined for clarity and to prevent confusion in the company.
• They’ll check third-party risks, such as if external AI tools are being used.
• They’ll negotiate for improved terms, such as by adding liability caps and stronger reporting processes.
• They’ll protect you in the event of legal disputes or investigations. They can do this by cleaning up the document so that it’s legal and clearly defined to prevent misinterpretations.
• They’ll add flexibility to the agreement so that the AI tools (and the agreement itself) can be revised according to evolving business needs and regulation updates.
• They’ll re-draft the document so that it doesn't have any red flags that can put parties at risk.

Where to Find a Lawyer for Your AI Governance Agreement

You might decide to hire a lawyer to review your AI governance agreement or help you negotiate for improved terms. Whatever the case, seeking legal guidance is essential. A lawyer will be able to guide you through the process of drafting and implementing Ai governance structures correctly and legally.

You can find a professional lawyer on ContractsCounsel. Simply search for the best lawyer for your legal requirements according to factors such as their credentials, years of experience, location, fields of expertise, and client ratings they’ve achieved on the platform. All the data is conveniently on the platform so you don’t have to conduct your own research.