Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Emily Burrows was quoted in Sourcing Journal’s 2024 Tech Report, entitled “The Artificial Intelligence Issue,” in an article focused on new laws related to technology that fashion industry leaders must confront.

Emily provided commentary on the EU AI Act (Act) and her recommendations for her businesses to conduct risk assessments preemptively, especially regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for internal people management.

“I think a lot of [companies] focus on consumers and don’t always think about the employees who are people and have privacy and personal rights, especially in the EU. The Act is very focused on using AI for recruitment, targeted job advertising, filtering applications and [the like],” Emily said.

She goes on to question how far AI will be integrated into human resource systems asking, “Even once somebody is already hired, is AI making decisions that affect actual work relationships? So things like promotion, termination, monitoring performance [and more].”

The EU AI Act was not announced without controversy, as some countries have protested that the Act is too restrictive, while others have been influenced by the AI regulation presented by the EU and are likely to adopt regulations of their own. “Comparing back in 2016 [with the GDPR] versus now, it seems like there’s a bit more criticism on the Act potentially hampering innovation, and countries are taking more of a policy framework approach versus being prescriptive,” Emily explained.

The full article, “New Tech, New Laws,” was published in the Sourcing Journal 2024 Tech Report and is available online. Emily’s insights were also used in the Sourcing Journal article, “As EU AI Act Enters Into Force, Other Jurisdictions Lag On Legislation,” that was published on the platform’s website on August 1 and is available online (subscription required).