Gail Makoday, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE:OHI) participated in a video interview during Nareit’s REITWISE: 2024 Law, Accounting & Finance Conference, held March 19-21 in Hollywood, Florida.
Makode stressed the important role of general counsels in tackling the complex challenges posed by AI. He highlighted the inherent risks associated with AI, noting concerns regarding both input and output data.
“They’re notorious for being like extremely eager interns,” he said. “That’s really what the AI model is – this intern that pulls all this data for you, but doesn’t necessarily think about it or double-check it [it],
Makode also discussed emerging strategies adopted by GCs, particularly the shift toward private enterprise versions of AI tools like Microsoft Copilot. Despite the risks, he highlighted growing business use cases, particularly in lease abstraction and contract reviews.
Addressing the growing concern of cyber risks, Makod outlined proactive measures, including incident response planning and compliance with the new SEC cyber rules. He also emphasized the increased importance of materiality assessments in light of the SEC’s new climate change disclosure rule.
“I think the GC has an incredibly important role there…[and] Almost everyone needs to involve themselves in a sustainability system,” she said. “ESG and investor relations people have their own stakeholders they’re reporting to.”
