Employers urged to understand legal obligations, seek professional advice
Employment lawyers in New Zealand are warning employers against using artificial intelligence tools in drafting workplace correspondence during disputes.
William Buckley, employment lawyer at Edwards Sluiters, pointed out that while AI can help organise thoughts and clearly communicate workplace concerns, there are still risks to its use.
"It also makes it easy to produce lengthy and technical correspondence that can escalate issues before a conversation has even taken place," he warned.
He warned that there are also accuracy concerns surrounding the use of AI when it comes to legal content.
"We have seen AI-generated correspondence that misstates legal tests, incorrectly summarises court decisions, or even cites cases that do not exist," he said.
"AI can be a useful tool, but employers and employees still need to understand their legal obligations and seek professional advice when disputes escalate."
Growing AI use in disputes
Buckley issued the warning amid observations that AI is increasingly being used to prepare emails to managers, letters raising concerns, as well as responses during disciplinary processes.
AI-generated content has also made its way into Statements of the Problem that are filed with the Employment Relations Authority.
New Zealand's Supreme Court recently dealt with a case that apparently used AI tools, which hallucinated content about a "number of authorities."
"Misuse of AI in legal proceedings has serious implications for the administration of justice and public confidence in the justice system," warned a Supreme Court panel in a decision it made in February.
"Persons filing submissions in court must ensure all authorities referred to are genuine and correctly cited.
"Reliance on false citations, including the unverified outputs of AI applications, may in serious cases amount to obstruction of justice or contempt of court," the panel added.
In 2023, Courts of New Zealand also said that generative AI chatbots are not subsitites substitutes for qualified lawyers and cannot give tailored legal advice.
"GenAI chatbots can provide inaccurate information," it said in a guideline.
"If you choose to use a GenAI chatbot to help you with a dispute or with a case in a court or tribunal, you should not rely on it as your sole or main source of legal information."
New Zealand's problems with AI-generated content in legal disputes are similar to what's happening in neighbouring Australia, where its Fair Work Commission recently raised the alarm on AI-assisted applications filed with its office.
