HR Executive Article by Meghan O’Connor, Jason Stavely Provides Insight on How Employers Can Increase Accountability for Employee AI Use
In an article published by HR Executive, Quarles & Brady partners Meghan O’Connor and Jason Stavely wrote about the steps employers can take to ensure employee use of artificial intelligence (AI) is appropriate and adheres to the organization's policy. O’Connor is co-chair of the firm’s Data Asset Management, Privacy & Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence teams, and Stavely is a member of the Labor & Employment Practice Group.
O’Connor and Stavely outlined several strategies employers should consider, including implementing a strong AI governance program that goes beyond a basic “acceptable use” policy; ensuring clarity about who can use AI and for what; underscoring that AI is a tool for which the people using it are accountable; and investing in employee education.
An excerpt:
Artificial intelligence is now embedded in day‑to‑day work across nearly every industry. Employees use AI tools to draft emails, summarize documents, generate code, analyze data and support decision‑making. As generative AI adoption accelerates, a predictable issue has emerged: When work product is flawed, late, biased or otherwise problematic, employees increasingly point to AI as the culprit.
For HR executives, this raises a critical governance and accountability question: Can an employee disclaim responsibility by blaming AI? The short answer is no, but the longer answer requires thoughtful policy, training and oversight. Employers that fail to address this issue proactively risk inconsistent discipline, legal exposure and erosion of performance standards.
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AI will continue to reshape how work gets done. But it does not change fundamental principles of employment law and performance management: people, not software, are accountable for their work.
When employees blame AI, it is often symptomatic of unclear policies, lack of meaningful training or inconsistent governance. HR leaders who address these issues proactively will not only reduce risk, they will also set clearer expectations, improve performance and build trust in responsible AI use.
If AI is part of your workplace, accountability must be part of your culture.