We are increasingly evaluating and deploying AI technologies, including generative AI and machine learning, across various aspects of our business. AI presents evolving risks that may be difficult to predict or mitigate. These risks include heightened data privacy, cybersecurity, and data protection risks, as the use of AI may involve processing sensitive data and, in some cases, sharing data with third-party providers. Such use may increase the risk of unauthorized access to, misuse, or disclosure of confidential information or personal data, introduce system vulnerabilities, and enable more sophisticated fraud and cyber-attacks. Any such event could result in operational disruptions, remediation costs, litigation, regulatory scrutiny, and reputational damage.
AI tools and systems may be unavailable, fail to perform as intended, or produce inaccurate or misleading outputs, and may be vulnerable to manipulation. When incorporated into our business processes, such risks could result in errors, inefficiencies, operational disruptions, or diminished customer experiences, and employees' use of AI tools may not always comply with our policies or controls. Further, we may rely on third-party AI technologies, cloud infrastructure, and data sets that could be subject to outages, security incidents, or changes in pricing or contractual terms, which may result in operational disruptions or the termination of our relationship with the providers of such technologies. AI-related activities also raise intellectual property, confidentiality, and content integrity risks, including potential claims that training data or outputs infringe third-party rights or that AI-generated content is inappropriate or inaccurate. Such risks could result in disputes, liability, regulatory inquiries, and reputational damage.
Our ability to successfully develop and deploy AI depends on attracting, developing, and retaining talent with AI-related skills and expertise. Competition for such talent is intense. If we are unable to build and maintain necessary AI capabilities, including such talent, we may not realize anticipated efficiencies or innovation benefits, or we may be competitively disadvantaged relative to peers that more effectively leverage AI. Conversely, investments in AI may not deliver expected returns, particularly in the near term, if adoption is limited or performance does not meet expectations.
The legal and regulatory environment governing AI is rapidly evolving. Emerging laws and regulations in jurisdictions where we operate may impose new obligations, limit the use of AI, or require changes to our products, processes, or controls. Compliance with such requirements could increase costs and expose us to investigations, enforcement actions, fines, or litigation.
Any perceived or actual failure to use AI responsibly, including with respect to fairness, bias, transparency, or governance, or to meet evolving stakeholder expectations, could harm our brand and reputation, reduce customer trust, negatively impact our workforce, and subject us to increased regulatory scrutiny or litigation, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.