The Don’ts of Generative AI: common mistakes to avoid and best practices

Generative AI is rapidly gaining ground in law firms, businesses, and even in everyday life. Capable of drafting, analyzing, and structuring information in just seconds, it offers tremendous potential. But this power also comes with major risks: compromised confidentiality, factual hallucinations, discriminatory bias, and regulatory non-compliance.

For responsible use, it is crucial to understand the “don’ts”: practices that are strictly prohibited or strongly discouraged because they expose organizations to legal, ethical, and operational risks. This article highlights the most common mistakes and the best practices to follow.

Generative AI Verification and Reliability: Avoiding blind trust

Generative models sometimes produce false answers, known as hallucinations:

• Do not publish AI-generated responses without proofreading and verifying the sources
  
• Do not assume AI has real-time knowledge of current events — it may provide outdated or entirely fabricated information
  
• Do not rely on AI to draft legally binding documents without a lawyer reviewing them first
  

Secure AI and confidential data: mistakes to avoid

Loss of confidentiality is the first pitfall to avoid. Generative AI models must never become an unintended channel for data leaks.

• Do not enter a third party’s personal data without their explicit consent → this can lead to privacy violations and GDPR penalties
  
• Do not paste confidential contracts, trade secrets, or proprietary source code into an external service → you risk losing control over intellectual property rights
  
• Do not store contractually protected information (e.g., client data) in an AI tool without a clear agreement and strong safeguards in place (encryption, on-premise hosting)
  
• Do not assume AI service logs are automatically deleted → always check the provider’s data retention and storage policy
  

Supervision, Bias, and Regulatory Compliance in Generative AI

Generative AI cannot operate without human supervision and a solid compliance framework. It carries a dual risk: making erroneous decisions when used autonomously, and reproducing discriminatory biases.

The Don’ts in practice

• Do not delegate life-critical decisions (medical diagnosis, judicial rulings, industrial safety) to AI without expert supervision
  
• Do not let AI fully replace human review for compliance, ethics, or editorial quality
  
• Do not allow AI to make HR or hiring decisions without regular bias audits and a clear legal framework
  
• Do not deploy a model in a product without robust safety and security testing
  
• Do not underestimate the impact of systemic bias — continuous correction plans are essential
  

• Unacceptable risk (e.g., behavioral manipulation, mass facial recognition) → prohibited
  
• High risk (e.g., recruitment, credit, justice) → subject to strict obligations (documentation, traceability, audits, human oversight)
  
• Limited or low risk (e.g., chatbots, text generators) → obligations of transparency and user disclosure
  

• Do not assume AI is automatically GDPR-compliant or aligned with the AI Act
  
• Always document the legal basis for processing and the mechanisms of human supervision
  
• Depending on your use case risk level, audit your models regularly to detect and mitigate bias
  

Best practices to minimize AI Risks

To move from “don’ts” to “do’s,” a few simple principles apply:

• Always anonymize sensitive data when using external or public tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini
  
• Deploy AI models on secure infrastructures (on-premise solutions)
  
• Train teams on responsible AI usage and its limitations
  
• Regularly audit biases and implement corrective action plans
  
• Have an expert systematically review outputs before any external release

Artemia.ai: The secure AI software for business professionals

For businesses looking to leverage AI without compromising confidentiality, Artemia.ai offers a turnkey solution:

• Secure, on-premise deployment, fully GDPR-compliant and aligned with the upcoming EU AI Act
  
• The ability to safely upload proprietary document databases and query them with AI using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology
  
• Team training programs for rapid adoption and responsible use

Conclusion

Generative AI is a powerful tool — but when misused, it can pose serious risks to confidentiality, compliance, and reputation. Respecting the “don’ts” — not exposing sensitive data, not delegating life-critical decisions, not ignoring bias — is the foundation for safe and controlled use.

With the enforcement of the EU AI Act, AI adoption can no longer be improvised. Businesses will be required to demonstrate compliance or face heavy penalties.

Adopting a secure AI solution like Artemia.ai enables legal professionals and businesses to integrate AI while meeting their ethical and regulatory obligations.

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