> 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 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.