Introducing Our AI Policy

In the past year, there's been a lot of discussion about AI. It's particularly top of mind for creatives – some who are exploring ways that AI can enhance their work and others who are thinking through what the latest advancements mean for credit, consent, and their livelihoods. As a platform for creators, we have a responsibility to directly engage in this ongoing conversation and to establish, for the first time, a clear framework for how Kickstarter approaches projects that incorporate or build AI.

In December, we shared our initial reflections on AI. Since then, we’ve talked to creators – including those in our Community Advisory Council – backers, other platform leaders, and our own staff. Those conversations helped us shape our AI policy, which will go into effect on Tuesday, August 29.

The Policy

To be clear, our new policy does not ban the use of AI in Kickstarter projects. However, we want to make sure that any project that is funded through Kickstarter includes human creative input and properly credits and obtains permission for any artist's work that it references.

The policy requires creators to be transparent and specific about how they use AI in their projects because when we’re all on the same page about what a project entails, it builds trust and sets the project up for success.

Beginning August 29, if AI is a part of a creator’s project, they’ll be prompted in the project submission process to share details about how they leverage AI. Here’s summary of our upcoming policy:

• To be allowed on Kickstarter, projects utilizing AI tools for generating images, text, or any other output must disclose relevant details on their project page. This includes information about how the creator plans to use AI content in their project, as well as which elements of their project will be wholly original work and which elements will be created using AI outputs.
• Projects developing AI technology, tools, or software must disclose information about any databases and data the creator intends to use. The creator must also indicate how these sources handle consent and credit for the data they utilize. If the sources don’t have processes or safeguards in place to manage consent, such as through an opt-out or opt-in mechanism, then Kickstarter is unlikely to allow the project.

If any use of AI is not disclosed properly during the submission process, the project may be suspended. Attempts to skirt our guidelines or intentionally misrepresent a project will result in restrictions from submitting a Kickstarter project in the future.

We’ll begin enforcing our AI policy on Tuesday, August 29 for any projects submitted on that date and after. We will not be retroactively enforcing the policy for projects that are submitted prior to this date. When the policy goes live, it will be available on Our Rules page and in our Help Center.

How We're Encouraging Transparency Around AI in the Submission Process and on the Project Page

In support of the new policy, we will introduce a new set of questions in the project submission process. The creator will be asked to share if their project uses AI technology to generate outputs, if the project's primary focus is on developing generative AI technology, or if it involves another use of AI.

We’ll also ask whether the creator has consent from owners of the works that are used to produce the AI-generated portion of their project.

Once submitted, these projects will then be put through a human review process by our moderation team.

If a project is accepted, once it goes live, any AI components of the project will be visible in a newly added “Use of AI” section on the project page. Throughout our conversations with creators and backers, what our community wanted most was transparency. We’re happy to directly answer this call from our community by adding a section to the project page where backers can learn about a project’s use of AI in the creator’s own words.

What's Next

This policy is not just new; it’s iterative. As AI technology continues to evolve and we continue conversations with our community, we’ll revisit how this policy is working and how we can strengthen it over time. If you have questions about our new AI policy or need additional support to make sure your upcoming project is compliant, please reach out to us.