Is there anything else I should keep in mind when using AI?
The information and advice in this section are accurate as of the Autumn of 2025. These questions and answers reflect current best practice and will be reviewed regularly and updated as necessary. AI is a rapidly developing field - both in terms of technology and the legal and ethical frameworks surrounding its use. As such, this guidance may change over time. We recommend staying informed through trusted sources and institutional updates.
While the core rule remains the same - you can’t copy or reuse someone else’s work without permission - AI is changing how content is created and used. This shift is raising important new questions about ownership, originality, and what counts as fair use when machines are involved.
The use of AI-generated images (and AI-generated content more broadly) will depend on your health board’s current policies. In many cases, these policies are still evolving, and definitive guidance may not yet be available - though more clarity is likely to emerge over time.
If you're considering using an AI-generated image and are unsure whether it's permitted, your first step should be to consult any local policies or institutional updates. You may also wish to contact your local Information Governance team for advice.
Importantly, if you’ve been specifically asked not to use AI-generated content, you should respect that request - especially if colleagues want assurance that a resource has been created with human oversight.
Even if your board permits the use of AI-generated images or text, and you're confident it's allowed, it’s still worth discussing with your line manager or colleagues to ensure it aligns with the tone and purpose of your resource.
As always, use your own judgement. Consider whether you're comfortable attaching the NHS Scotland name to a resource that includes AI-generated content, and whether its inclusion could affect the NHS’s reputation.
Bottom line: Published work incorporating AI generated images are subject to your organisation's governance and approval processes. Policies may vary between boards, and stricter rules could emerge. If you're unsure - don’t use it. If you're sure it's allowed - still use your best judgement.
The use of AI images to represent staff, patients, people, locations or interiors related to Health and Social Care is, as of November 2025, officially discouraged within existing Turas design guidance. The logic of this discouragement is worth considering as it may be relevant in other contexts. It is quoted in full below:
Generative AI is often trained on biased or inaccurate data. This can reinforce harmful stereotypes and show poor health and care practices. It is likely to create images that don’t accurately show Scotland's health and care staff, service users or locations. This kind of misrepresentation can erode trust and undermine the credibility of our content. It can also bring copyright, legal and reputational risks.
Human connection is crucial in the work we do. Health and care staff and patients are real people with unique identities, emotions, and experiences. Using AI to represent them can dehumanise them, instead of recognising their real-life humanity. Do not use generative AI to represent health and care:
staff, patients or people
location or interiors
The current consensus in the world of copyright is that, in the context of AI-generated images, you (or the organisation you are working for) are considered the owner of the image. The AI tool is treated like a paintbrush - just as the manufacturer of a paintbrush doesn’t own the rights to the paintings created with it, Microsoft (the developer of Copilot) does not own the images produced using its tool. From a copyright standpoint, this means you are safe to use or share the image with the same rights as if it were a photo you had taken yourself.
If you use an AI tool to generate an image, it’s good practice to acknowledge it - especially in academic or professional work. While there’s no single standard yet, a clear and transparent citation should include:
Your citation might look like this:
Fig. 1. Image generated using Microsoft Copilot from the initial prompt “a typical dental nurse.” (2025).
Yes - while it may be appropriate to include AI-generated images in a piece of work, they must not be used to replicate or imitate copyrighted material, such as brand logos (e.g. a version of the McDonald’s logo), or other protected creative works like characters, artworks, or designs from films, games, or books, as this may infringe intellectual property rights.
The NHS CLA Licence currently does not permit the use of copyrighted content for training or prompting generative artificial intelligence (AI) models. There is also no exception under copyright law that allows such use for non-commercial purposes in this context.
In practical terms, this means it is against the rules to ask an AI tool to summarise or process copyrighted material, particularly content that otherwise requires a subscription to access.
While this position may evolve in the future, for now, please avoid using generative AI tools to summarise or process any content unless you have obtained the appropriate additional permission to do so.
If you're unsure whether a particular use is permitted, please seek advice from your local Knowledge Services team or Information Governance lead.
While AI technology is advancing rapidly, it remains imperfect - so it’s essential to carefully review any output, whether text or images, to ensure accuracy and appropriateness (including details like the correct number of fingers in illustrations of people, accuracy of information, etc)