Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a helpful tool for people when they are seeking an external review under the Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI Act) or making a privacy complaint under the Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act).
OIC is receiving an increasing number of correspondence and submissions generated by AI that, in some instances, contain irrelevant, incorrect, out-of-date or false information. For example, submissions in external review applications that talk about foreign case law or legislation that does not exist or apply in Queensland.
This guidance sets out our approach when we receive AI generated information from individuals and agencies and how you can avoid unnecessary delays or refusals. It is important that you read this guidance before giving us AI generated information.
What is AI?
Artificial intelligence or AI includes online tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Claude, and QChat. These tools give you a response or answer to a question or ‘prompt’, by scanning information on the internet.
AI is quickly becoming a part of the way individuals and government agencies engage, work with and respond to each other. At this early stage of its development, there are both benefits and downsides of using AI.
Benefits of using AI
AI tools can help you during an OIC external review or privacy complaint process. For example, you can use an AI tool to help you prepare a privacy complaint to the OIC, or to write a submission to support your external review application or respond to a preliminary view that we send you.
AI tools can help in understanding complex topics, get across a lot of information quickly, support you in expressing your thoughts, organising and formatting information in a clear way, and summarising and structuring your ideas about an issue.
While there are benefits, individuals and agencies must still check the AI generated content to ensure it is correct, up-to-date and relevant. This will help avoid unnecessary delays or refusals in the external review or privacy complaint process.
Downsides of using AI
AI does not get it right all the time. There are risks in relying on information that an AI tool gives you, without checking it is relevant, current or correct.
For example:
- Most publicly available AI tools do not know if the information they are using is reliable, current or correct, or is relevant to your circumstances.
- Most AI tools are trained on international information sources, which may not include Australian or Queensland information or law. This means AI tools may provide you with information that is not relevant or correct.
- AI tools can refer to laws that do not exist.
- AI tools may give you a response that overlooks essential information or focuses on things that are not important.
AI tools can also store and share your personal or sensitive information with others if you include this information in any way.
OIC strongly recommends not including names, addresses and other personal or sensitive information when using AI tools to protect personal privacy.
Our approach to AI generated information
If an individual or agency uses AI generated content in an external review or privacy complaint process, and it contains irrelevant, incorrect, out-of-date or false information, then it should be noted that OIC cannot finalise the external review decision or privacy complaint.
If you use an AI tool to help you prepare information or a submission, you are responsible for checking that the information these tools provide you with is relevant, current and accurate before you provide it to us.
If not, we will take one or any of the following steps in accordance with our powers under the IP and RTI Acts (for example, section 168 of the IP Act, and sections 94 and 96 of the RTI Act):
- We may ask you to explain what the information means, or ask you to provide us with relevant, current and accurate information before we finalise your matter. These extra steps will likely delay finalising your application or complaint.
- We will disregard any irrelevant, incorrect, out-of-date or false information or submissions you give us if we are satisfied that you are aware, or should be reasonably, aware that they contain this type of information.
- We may decline to accept or continue to deal with an external review application or privacy complaint (either in full or in part).
Further information
Still have questions? Contact our Enquiries Service.