AI Policy

Introduction

This policy provides a governance framework and practical guidance for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies at Komedia in Brighton. It applies to all Komedia staff (full-time, part-time, and freelance) and partners including bookers, performers, and agents.

The aim of this policy is to ensure responsible, ethical, and effective deployment of AI tools while preserving our cultural values and mission.

 

Governing Principles

1. Responsible Experimentation

We encourage staff & partners to conduct responsible experiments ahead of AI deployment at work, aligned with our mission and values. All staff must complete an online form answering the following questions, to be reviewed and approved by at least one manager, before the experiment can go ahead.

Key Questions to Consider:

• How do we know the proposed AI use advances our mission?
• What risks need to be assessed before going ahead?
• How will the AI experiment be recorded?
• What are the success metrics for the experiment?

2. Data Protection and Privacy

When using AI systems that process personal data, staff must comply with all relevant data protection legislation, including the UK GDPR. We will be transparent about our use of personal data in AI and obtain explicit consent where required. Sensitive, confidential, and/or personal information should not be input into third-party AI systems without appropriate data protection safeguards.

Key Questions to Consider:

• What data will the AI system process?
• How will the data be processed and stored?
• What consent is required and how will it be obtained?
• Has a data protection assessment taken place?
• Are there any protective features to activate within the AI tool? (e.g. information is deleted after completion of the experiment)

3. Intellectual Property and Cultural Ownership

To respect the intellectual property rights of artists & creators, creative work (whether published or not) must not be used in AI training data or outputs. We will carefully consider the cultural and ethical implications of using AI in relation to material obtained from artists while performing at Komedia. We will obtain necessary permissions, configure any AI tools to prevent our data from being used for AI training purposes, and give appropriate attribution within the scope of our control.

Key Questions to Consider:

• Does the AI use impact culturally sensitive material?
• Do relevant stakeholders need to be informed?
• How are the correct attributions implemented?
• What safeguards are put in place?

4. Human Oversight and Editorial Control

While we may use AI tools for research purposes or data analysis, we will not publish or act on AI outputs without human review in any circumstances. All AI-related content will be fact-checked and edited by Komedia staff to ensure accuracy, alignment with our brand, and adherence to our institutional values before publication in any medium – either internally or externally.

Please contact programming@komedia.co.uk and marketing@komedia.co.uk to request a review of any AI outputs at the earliest possible opportunity.

5. Transparency and Accountability

Transparency about any use of specific AI tools – Large Language Models (LLM), Generative AI (GenAI), Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Evolutionary AI, Multimodal AI, or Natural Language Processing (NLP) – is crucial, both internally and externally.

When publishing any material that includes AI-generated content, we will clearly label it as such and confirm which type of AI tool has been used in the process. This includes applying ‘made with AI’ stickers to A3 show posters displayed in the venue.

We will maintain audit trails of our AI usage and establish clear lines of accountability for each AI project, with a relevant manager assigned depending on the topic.

Key Question to Consider:

• What kind of AI label is used, either digitally or physically?
• Do we label all human-made material? Instead of or in addition to the above?

6. Resource Management

AI deployment must be resourced appropriately and sustainably.

Key Questions to Consider:

• What budget is required, from which department?
• What training is needed?
• How do we measure ROI?
• What resources does the AI tool consume in the process of its application?

7. Monitoring Bias and Fairness

AI systems perpetuate and amplify biases present in training data and design. We must take proactive steps to identify and mitigate biases using human oversight. To mitigate the risk of AI-generated content creating a misleading or unbalanced interpretation of art, history, or culture, all requests for new use cases of AI must come with an AI risk assessment.

Key Questions to Consider:

• How can we further mitigate bias through the tools and platforms we choose?
• What human checks are put into place?
• How is the diversity of the human panel guaranteed?

8. Social Impact and Job Displacement

AI use must promote cultural understanding, inclusion, and accessibility. We will be mindful of the potential impact of automation on our workforce and commit to supporting staff in developing the skills needed to work effectively with AI.

To protect jobs at Komedia and our partner organisations, the following use cases are prohibited:

• Generating any creative material such as text, graphics, photos, videos, and animations;
• Generating any promotional material for current in-house shows any future shows Komedia may produce
• Writing show reports
• Writing website copy, including blog posts

Komedia’s association with any third-party promotional material generated with AI tools will be reviewed by the Marketing department on a case-by-case basis (marketing@komedia.co.uk). The say of the Marketing team is final, as they hold the responsibility for the Komedia brand and its associations.

9. Environmental Sustainability

Recognising the significant environmental footprint of AI (e.g. electronic waste with hazardous substances that can contaminate soil and water suppliers, the consummation of large quantities of fresh water for cooling purposes, and the electricity required to run data centres), we will aim to use AI sparingly and avoid unnecessary computational waste.

Before deploying any AI tools, we will conduct a Google Search as it consumes 10 times less electricity than a request made through ChatGPT. If we do choose an AI provider, we will opt for one with strong environmental credentials and sustainable practices.

Key Questions to Consider:

• Which AI provider will you work with?
• How will you measure the environmental footprint of your AI usage?
• How do we balance the AI footprint with our environmental responsibility pledge?

10. Stakeholder Engagement and Ethical Review

Active engagement with staff, partners, and the wider cultural sector will continue to inform our approach to AI. This AI policy is available on komedia.co.uk and will be reviewed every 6 months.

The overall responsibility for fair & ethical AI use lies with the Responsible AI Workgroup (authors of this policy). This workgroup meets every 3 months at Komedia and is open to all staff. The aim is to provide a hierarchy-free space to review our approach to AI and review the successes & challenges with relevant use cases.

11. Artistic Freedom and Human Creativity

While recognising the creative potential of AI, this policy affirms the enduring importance of human creativity & artistic expression. We commit to using AI only to complement and enhance human creativity and how it is accessed, not replace it.

As such, the only acceptable use cases are as follows:

• Conducting research (e.g. blog posts, funding opportunities)
• Speeding up administrative tasks such as searching and filtering
• Improving the accessibility of our venue and events, e.g. creating a 3D map of the venue
• Generating captions for videos through Adobe Premiere Pro’s built-in captioning feature
• Generating backgrounds through Adobe Photoshop’s built-in ‘generative fill’ feature

Furthermore, the Komedia programme may include live arts projects with a creative and critical approach to AI, who, by including AI in their show, make a statement in and off itself. All booking requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by our human Programming team (programming@komedia.co.uk).

Key Questions to Consider:

• Where do we draw the line on what enhances human creativity and what replaces it?

12. Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing

Given the complex challenges posed by AI, we encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing with other arts and cultural organisations, academic institutions, tech providers, policymakers, and civil society. This includes participating in sector-wide initiatives to develop AI ethics guidelines, share best practices, and advocate for responsible AI policies.

13. Use of AI in Recruitment

At this moment in time, Komedia does not use any AI tools in any recruitment process. We expect applicants to be transparent about any AI usage in the completion of their job application.