Can Your AI Chat History Be Used Against You in a Lawsuit? 5 Practical Takeaways for Employers as Courts Start to Split
If you or your employees use ChatGPT or other generative artificial intelligence to help during a lawsuit, a re the AI chat histories and other archived data fair game during discovery, or are they protected by the attorney-client privilege or work-product doctrine? As the use of GenAI tools expands into business operations and transforms employment litigation, more courts are beginning to address this critical question. We’ll cover two recent federal court decisions that reached nearly opposite conclusions and offer five practical takeaways for employers. Quick Background During the discovery phase of a lawsuit, the parties are required to collect and exchange evidence, including electronically stored information (ESI) to understand the facts of the case. However, discovery requests are limited by relevance, proportionality, and other rules, and certain materials and communications are protected. For example: The attorney-client privilege shields certain communications fro...