ONE Gas is a 100% regulated natural gas utility providing natural gas service to approximately 2.3 million customers in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Lately, it seems that artificial intelligence, also known as AI, is a topic of conversation wherever you go. In the past year, generative AI programs such as ChatGPT or Google’s Bard have seen rapid growth. It is estimated that, as of July 2023, generative AI tools had more than 100 million users. In addition, proper use of AI has taken on increasing national importance, with the White House releasing an executive order in October 2023 to establish safety and security standards for AI.
While the technology is still developing, these tools are more sophisticated than iterations of AI we have seen in the past. With just a simple prompt, text-based models like ChatGPT can produce meeting agendas, create software code or produce unique images that are essentially indistinguishable from humancreated content.
It’s not just text or images that AI tools can generate: Brokerage firm Jefferies predicts energy companies in the near future will use AI in numerous applications, such as asset management, cybersecurity, and emissions detection and monitoring, to name a few. In the utility sector, AI tools can use advanced analytics to improve route optimization for customer service calls or identify high-risk 811 tickets so damage-prevention teams can prioritize interventions with excavators.
The growing adoption of AI has raised many questions about what this technology means for business and the workforce. Will it replace human jobs, or will it simply change the way we do our jobs? Can we trust AI-generated content? How will AI affect workers with specialized content writing, data analysis or customer service roles? Are there data privacy concerns with this technology?
With these questions in mind, some companies have banned AI’s usage altogether in the workplace. In contrast, others argue this closes the door to any innovation these tools could unlock.
In 2023, ONE Gas sought to implement a more balanced approach after thoughtful consideration and analysis. Our information technology and legal teams partnered to create guidelines outlining how AI can be used in our work and when it should be avoided. We shared the guidelines with employees, and we continue to highlight best practices and precautions.
As you assess how AI plays a role in your work and workplace, consider these factors to help strike a balance between responsible innovation and security.
To Ban or Not to Ban?
As ChatGPT and other publicly available AI models picked up speed in early 2023, we realized that it was a topic that we needed to address as a company. Some of our employees were either not aware of or not interested in new AI tools, but others were excited about the emerging technology and eager to engage with it. A few were already testing its capabilities.
Our leadership decided that an outright ban on AI tools was not practical or in the best interest of our company for a handful of reasons. First, enforcing such a ban with our approximately 3,800 employees did not seem realistic. In addition, AI is already in use in many areas of our everyday lives, from email autosuggestions to GPS navigation systems to smart thermostats; where do you draw the line with a ban on generative AI?
Lastly, and most importantly, we trust our employees to thoughtfully engage with this new technology, and a ban on generative AI could stunt their opportunities to pursue innovation. That’s why we decided to create guidelines, or “rules of the road,” for our employees to steer their use of generative AI in the workplace.
Venturing into the Unknown: Considerations for Guidelines
To inform our development of a ONE Gas AI policy, we looked for examples of guidelines other organizations had created and found that it was fairly uncharted territory at the time. Two things guided us: the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, published by the White House in October 2022, and our company core values: safety, ethics, inclusion and diversity, service and value.
As we reviewed the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, we saw our core values reflected in many of its tenets:
These all must be considered when developing any policy governing the use of AI, especially when customer and company data are involved.
The risk-reward balance can be a tricky thing to manage. A too-restrictive policy will diminish the possibilities AI unlocks; a too-lenient policy can open the door for unfortunate outcomes. Recently, a lawyer in New York came under scrutiny for submitting a legal brief containing false court citations generated by ChatGPT. Despite recent developments, AI tools are not perfect; this means that AI-generated content, if unverified by the user, can be dangerous and can even damage careers.
A Foundation for Future Possibilities
Our goal with the generative AI guidelines was to create a workable, easily applicable document for employees to use. We cannot imagine every possible scenario and usage case for generative AI, so we opted not to get too directive in our guidelines (e.g., saying only certain applications can be used). Instead, we outlined some acceptable and prohibited uses of generative AI and established ground rules for the technology’s role in our work.
Here are some of the key takeaways in our company AI guidelines:
We have communicated the guidelines to employees in a variety of ways, including intranet articles, emails, presentations to individual leaders and work groups, and an internal video. These methods have helped make the topic approachable to our employees, especially those not in more technology-driven roles.
In fact, we are seeing increased interest in AI across our workforce; this includes not just our corporate office employees, but also our operations employees. Now that we have established a foundation with our guidelines, our next horizon is to develop and implement an overarching strategy for this potentially transformative technology.
Finding Balance
While we should understand the limitations and risks of AI, we can also embrace its efficiencies and opportunities for innovation. It’s all about balance.
Some of us may be eager and ready to jump at the possibilities of generative AI. Some may be wary of the new technology and fear the unknown. No matter where we fall between these two points of view, we can find a happy medium where we engage with these tools responsibly.