# AI Ethics Statement

> **Document Version:** 1.0  
> **Document Owner:** Acme Inc  
> **Next Review Date:** 2027-03-19


**Last updated:** 2026-03-19

**Organization:** Acme Inc
**Project:** nextjs-saas-example

---

This AI Ethics Statement outlines the principles, commitments, and oversight mechanisms that **Acme Inc** follows when developing, deploying, and operating artificial intelligence systems. It is aligned with the **UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence** (2021), the **OECD AI Principles**, and the **EU AI Act**.

## 1. AI Systems in Use

This project integrates the following AI services:

- **openai** — Processes: user prompts, conversation history, generated content

Each AI system listed above is subject to the ethical principles and oversight commitments described in this statement.

## 2. Core Ethical Principles

Our use of AI is guided by the following principles, derived from the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI:

### 2.1 Proportionality and Do No Harm

- AI systems shall not be used in ways that cause or are likely to cause harm to individuals, communities, or the environment
- The use of AI must be proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued
- We conduct risk assessments before deploying AI features to ensure proportionality
- AI systems must include safeguards against unintended harmful outcomes

### 2.2 Fairness and Non-Discrimination

- AI systems shall not discriminate against individuals or groups based on protected characteristics including race, gender, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status
- We conduct bias testing across demographic groups before deployment and at regular intervals
- When bias is detected, we take immediate corrective action including disabling features, applying output filters, or retraining models
- We monitor AI outputs for patterns of unfair treatment and maintain records of bias testing results

### 2.3 Transparency and Explainability

- Users are informed when they are interacting with an AI system, in accordance with EU AI Act Article 50
- AI-generated content is clearly labeled as such
- We provide meaningful information about the logic, significance, and envisaged consequences of AI processing
- Where technically feasible, we offer explanations for individual AI decisions that affect users
- Our AI Disclosure and AI Model Card documents provide detailed transparency about AI system capabilities and limitations

### 2.4 Accountability and Responsibility

- Clear roles and responsibilities are assigned for AI governance within the organization
- An AI Governance Officer is responsible for overseeing compliance with this ethics statement
- We maintain audit trails of AI system decisions for accountability purposes
- We accept responsibility for the outcomes of our AI systems and their impact on individuals
- When AI systems cause harm, we provide effective remedy and redress mechanisms

### 2.5 Privacy and Data Protection

- AI systems process personal data only in accordance with applicable data protection laws (GDPR, CCPA/CPRA)
- Data minimization is applied — AI systems use only the data necessary for their stated purpose
- Users retain their data subject rights including the right to access, rectify, erase, and port their data
- AI training data usage is disclosed and opt-out mechanisms are provided where available
- Our Data Protection Officer (Jane Mueller, dpo@acme-saas.com) oversees AI data processing activities

### 2.6 Human Oversight and Control

- All AI systems operate under meaningful human oversight appropriate to their risk level
- Critical decisions that significantly affect individuals are not made solely by AI systems
- Human operators can intervene in, override, or shut down AI system operations at any time
- Regular human review of AI outputs is conducted to ensure quality, safety, and alignment with organizational values
- Users have the right to request human review of decisions made with AI assistance

### 2.7 Safety and Security

- AI systems are tested for safety before deployment, including adversarial testing and edge case evaluation
- We implement defenses against prompt injection, data poisoning, and other AI-specific attack vectors
- Rollback mechanisms and kill switches are in place for all AI features
- AI system performance is continuously monitored for drift, errors, and anomalies
- Incidents involving AI systems are handled per our Incident Response Plan with AI-specific procedures

### 2.8 Sustainability

- We consider the environmental impact of AI system training and operation
- Where possible, we select AI providers and models with lower computational and energy footprints
- We avoid unnecessary AI processing and implement caching and optimization to reduce resource consumption
- We periodically review whether AI usage remains justified and proportionate to the benefits delivered

## 3. Human Oversight Commitments

We commit to the following specific oversight practices:

| Commitment | Description | Frequency |
|------------|-------------|-----------|
| Bias audit | Test all AI systems for discriminatory outcomes across protected groups | Quarterly + pre-deployment |
| Output review | Human review of a sample of AI outputs for quality and safety | Monthly |
| Model evaluation | Evaluate AI model performance, accuracy, and alignment | Quarterly |
| Ethics review | Review AI usage against this ethics statement | Annually |
| Incident review | Investigate and document all AI-related incidents | Per incident |
| Stakeholder feedback | Collect and review user feedback about AI systems | Ongoing |
| Risk assessment | Reassess AI risk classification and proportionality | Annually + on change |
| Vendor review | Evaluate third-party AI providers for ethical compliance | Annually |

## 4. UNESCO Recommendation Alignment

This ethics statement is aligned with the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (adopted November 2021). The following table maps UNESCO principles to our commitments:

| UNESCO Principle | Our Commitment |
|------------------|----------------|
| Proportionality and Do No Harm | Risk assessments before deployment; safeguards against harm |
| Safety and Security | Adversarial testing; monitoring; kill switches; incident response |
| Fairness and Non-Discrimination | Bias testing; protected characteristic monitoring; corrective action |
| Sustainability | Environmental impact consideration; optimization; justified usage |
| Right to Privacy and Data Protection | GDPR/CCPA compliance; data minimization; data subject rights |
| Human Oversight and Determination | Human-in-the-loop; override capability; regular review |
| Transparency and Explainability | AI disclosure; content labeling; decision explanations |
| Responsibility and Accountability | Governance officer; audit trails; remedy mechanisms |
| Awareness and Literacy | Staff training; user education; clear documentation |
| Multi-stakeholder Governance | Feedback collection; external input; interdisciplinary review |

## 5. AI Ethics Governance Structure

### 5.1 AI Governance Officer

An appointed AI Governance Officer is responsible for:

- Maintaining and updating this AI Ethics Statement
- Overseeing bias testing and ethical compliance reviews
- Receiving and investigating ethics-related complaints
- Reporting to leadership on AI ethics matters
- Coordinating with the Data Protection Officer on AI data processing

### 5.2 Ethics Review Process

Before deploying a new AI feature or significantly modifying an existing one:

1. **Impact Assessment** — Evaluate potential ethical impacts on affected stakeholders
2. **Proportionality Check** — Confirm AI usage is proportionate to the legitimate aim
3. **Bias Testing** — Conduct fairness testing across demographic groups
4. **Transparency Review** — Ensure adequate user disclosure and labeling
5. **Oversight Verification** — Confirm human oversight mechanisms are in place
6. **Approval** — Obtain sign-off from the AI Governance Officer

## 6. Reporting Concerns and Redress

If you believe our AI systems have produced unfair, discriminatory, or harmful outcomes, you have the right to:

- **Report the concern** — Contact us at legal@acme.com
- **Request human review** — Ask for a human to review any AI-assisted decision
- **Lodge a complaint** — File a formal complaint with our AI Governance Officer
- **Regulatory complaint** — Contact your local data protection authority or AI supervisory authority

We commit to acknowledging all AI ethics complaints within 5 business days and providing a substantive response within 30 days.

## 7. Contact

For questions about this AI Ethics Statement or our AI practices:

- **AI Governance Officer:** [Name] ([email])
- **Data Protection Officer:** Jane Mueller (dpo@acme-saas.com)
- **General inquiries:** legal@acme.com

---

*This AI Ethics Statement was generated by [Codepliant](https://github.com/joechensmartz/codepliant) based on an automated scan of the **nextjs-saas-example** codebase. It should be reviewed and customized by your legal, ethics, and AI governance teams to reflect your organization's specific values and commitments.*