Kickstarter to Require Disclosures of Artificial Intelligence Use in Projects

Kickstarter is making it mandatory for creators to reveal the utilization of artificial intelligence in their projects, as the prominence of AI continues to grow. Starting from August 29th, this policy will be applicable to all projects submitted on the platform.

“We want to ensure that all projects funded through Kickstarter include human creative input and give proper credit and permission to any artist’s work it references,” Kickstarter’s director of trust and safety Susannah Page-Katz wrote in a blog post. “As a matter of practice, content creators need to be transparent and specific about how they use AI in their projects, because when we’re all on the same page about the project’s content, it builds trust and creates project success.”

The project submission process will soon include new AI-related questions. Authors must state whether their project produces results with AI, is primarily concerned with the development of generative AI technology, or uses AI in some other way. They must disclose which parts of their project contain entirely original work.

Kickstarter also asks creators to indicate whether they have permission to use the works or data used in the AI-generated parts of their projects. They need to provide insight into how their data sources deal with consent and credit. “If sources do not have processes or safeguards in place to manage consent, such as through an opt-out or opt-in mechanism, Kickstarter is unlikely to allow the project,” Page-Katz wrote.

If creators do not properly disclose the use of AI during the submission process, Kickstarter may suspend the project. Those who attempt to circumvent Kickstarter policies or intentionally misrepresent their project will not be allowed to submit a new one.

Submissions are reviewed by human moderators, and if approved, Kickstarter will reveal the use of AI in a new section on the relevant project pages, in the creator’s own words. The company suggests that its approach will help alleviate community concerns about artificial intelligence. It formulated the policy with the help of its staff, creators and backers, as well as “other platform leaders.” AI technologies are constantly evolving, and as such, Kickstarter intends to re-examine the policy and change it if necessary.