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Code of Conduct

Purpose and Scope

The primary objective of the AI Knowledge Consortium (AIKC) is to foster multi-stakeholder dialogue and research on AI governance in India. Participants are expected to voluntarily contribute to the Consortium to enhance the quality of public policy design around AI.  

Participants

We aim for organisations of all sizes to voluntarily contribute in a manner commensurate with their capabilities and capacities. The following categories of participants constitute the AIKC:

  1. Members: These include not-for-profits, academic institutions, civil society organisations that work in the field of technology, law, policy, consumer rights, or adjacent fields.
  2. Patrons: Private sector patrons can support projects and programmes, provide access to proprietary tools and platforms, or lend technical expertise to AIKC Members.
  3. Partners: Established institutions, international organisations and government bodies can support the Consortium without being subject to the Code of Conduct. 

While all participation is voluntary, AIKC participants are encouraged to actively engage in collaborative work. The AIKC is not a joint venture or an  association of persons, and the participants have merely come together to improve the ecosystem of multistakeholder AI governance in India.

Core Committee

A Core Committee of Founding Members shall propose and deliberate on a common research, development and outreach agenda. Non-founding members may be invited to join the Core Committee if they actively participate in AIKC initiatives. 

The Core Committee shall endeavour to ensure inclusiveness and transparency. Decisions shall be made through simple majority votes in the case of day to day/ operational issues,  supermajority votes (2/3rd) for dispute resolution and other strategic decisions. 

Secretariat

The Koan Advisory Group shall voluntarily provide secretarial support to the AIKC. This includes administrative and logistical assistance for project and programme implementation, in close coordination with the Core Committee. It shall additionally aid in capacity building for Members and in catalysing collaborative projects. 

Collaboration

Members shall proactively endeavour to build collective capacity for delivering on collaborative projects and programmes. All Members can propose innovative projects and programmes to the Core Committee, along with concrete actions to enable delivery. The presumption of good faith in collaborative activities is imperative; and disputes shall be resolved within the Core Committee. 

  1. Steering Committee Members shall proactively endeavour to raise resources for projects and programmes towards achieving the AIKC’s Mission
  2. Stakeholders contributing resources will be identified as Patrons on the AIKC website and relevant collaterals, for the time they are involved in doing so. These resources, whether technical or monetary or infrastructural, may be channelled to one or more Members, via the Member raising the resources or directly to the beneficiaries by the associated Patron
  3. All such projects or programmes that receive external support will be identified and tagged on the AIKC’s website, and resulting research, events and other programmes will always be branded or co-branded with the AIKC logo/seal which exists for the sole purpose of signalling the existence of the voluntary collective
  4. All Members can propose projects and programmes to the Secretariat which will table these to the Steering Committee — collaborative projects are desired but not a prerequisite
  5. All Members shall exhibit transparency, and the presumption of good faith in all resource-mobilisation activities related to the AIKC is imperative
  6. Disputes over resource allocation shall be resolved via Supermajority decisions within the Steering Committee.

While external resources are necessary, all Members shall also endeavour to contribute existing resources towards fulfilling the AIKC’s Mission. Members shall continually endeavour to conduct collaborative research and capacity-building activities under the aegis of the AIKC.

Intellectual Property

All research conducted under the aegis of the AIKC will be made open-source, promoting transparency and knowledge sharing in the public interest. The outputs contributed by Members for the AIKC website shall be released under a Creative Commons licence (CC BY-SA), following the same principle. The Secretariat shall endeavour to protect other shared intellectual property, on behalf of AIKC Members.

Confidentiality and Privacy

While the AIKC promotes transparency and open sharing, there may be instances where confidential institutional information of private personal information is shared or accessed. Members shall:

  • Strictly refrain from disclosing any confidential or personal information;
  • Ensure that confidential information is used solely for the purpose it was shared and not for any personal or external advantage;
  • Take necessary measures to protect and secure confidential and private information, preventing unauthorised access or leaks;
  • Immediately report any breaches or potential risks concerning confidentiality or privacy to the Core Committee

Termination

The Core Committee shall retain the ability to discontinue voluntary participation via membership (including of Core Committee Members), partnership or patronage in cases of breach of this Code of Conduct, via a supermajority vote.

Review and Feedback

The Core Committee shall conduct regular reviews of the AIKC’s activities. Feedback loops shall be established with all members, partners and patrons to ensure collective action always remains aligned with the AIKC Charter. 

Additional Principles

Participants in the AIKC shall uphold the following additional principles, in pursuit of the Charter:

  • Integrity: Members shall act with integrity in all interactions, ensuring that they represent themselves and their affiliations truthfully;
  • Respect: Members shall treat others with respect, valuing diverse perspectives and avoiding any form of discrimination or prejudice;
  • Professionalism: Members shall maintain high levels of professionalism, refraining from any form of harassment, bullying, or inappropriate behaviour;
  • Ethical and Responsible Behaviour: Given the focus on AI governance, members should prioritise, above all, ethical and responsible conduct within the Consortium