Before I focus on the topic of this issue of “Counselor’s Corner,” allow me to congratulate the West Virginia Dealer Association on a wonderful annual family convention at The Greenbrier. As usual, the event was informational and educational, but moreover, it was a fantastic opportunity for everyone to reconnect in a relaxed atmosphere. Allow me to turn to artificial intelligence. It is a term that encompasses a broad range of opportunities and efficiencies these days, yet it can also create significant legal liability for dealerships. Within the dealership, we utilize AI for chatbots to support our business development centers and assist customers. Our employees and managers use services such as ChatGPT, Gronk, Gemini and Copilot, not to mention a host of private vendors who are offering these products. We may use them in our hiring and employment decisions, which can create another level of exposure if not used properly. AI can be used to develop marketing messages, predictive maintenance and service alerts, and sales communications. AI agents can also be utilized in the back office to audit for fraud and anomalies. With the use of this new technology comes the usual legal exposure if not used properly. Our dealerships operate in an environment where manufacturers and vendors have access to the dealership’s customer and financial information. Obviously, this is beneficial for our business operations, but we have always faced a long-standing risk of potential data breaches and the exposure of non-public personal information. The purpose of this article is not to focus on safeguarding non-public personal information, as many reputable vendors are currently assisting our West Virginia dealers with best practices. I wish to focus on three areas of exposure that AI creates: identity theft, employment and advertising. The market where dealership sales occur is no longer limited to our surrounding communities and geographical area. The internet certainly changed that dynamic. West Virginia dealers now sell vehicles to consumers in our neighboring states and halfway across the country. We must acknowledge that the use of highly realistic, computer-generated or computer-aided editing in photographs or videos is becoming increasingly sophisticated. These are commonly referred to as “deepfakes.” When selling to a non-local customer, the previous practice of getting on a Zoom or Teams call after receiving the driver’s license to confirm identity would have normally been sufficient. These days, it is easy for individuals to edit their image and voice, which could easily fool any reasonable person. I believe it necessitates a face-to-face meeting at some point in the transaction. This is best handled in the dealership, but I hope a delivery driver is being trained to verify the person’s identity using the provided identification documents. Artificial Intelligence, a Blessing and a Curse Johnnie Brown, Esq. Pullin, Fowler, Flanagan, Brown & Poe PLLC COUNSELOR’S CORNER WVADA NEWS 20
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODQxMjUw