Choice
Is AI locating material, interpreting it, creating something, taking action—or some combination the participant explicitly chose?
Atlas · Trust Guide
Capability without trust is not readiness.
The same questions follow every tool and mashup. They are part of the activity design, not fine print added at the end.
Human authority
is a feature.
Sources
Can every consequential claim, quotation, observation, and transformation be traced to an exact source or labeled as inference or invention?
Consent
Did every living person authorize the use of their story, face, voice, identity, private material, and intended publication context?
Privacy
What enters the tool, where is it processed, what is retained, and can someone participate without supplying personal information?
Cost and access
Are subscriptions separated from API, credit, equipment, storage, tax, and facilitator costs—and was pricing checked today?
Human authority
Which choices remain with the participant, source community, facilitator, editor, or publisher?
Failure
What happens when a tool is unavailable, wrong, slow, unsafe, or unexpectedly expensive during the event?
Preservation
Can the work, sources, permissions, and editable files survive if the vendor changes or disappears?
Default posture
Small, inspectable, reversible.
Use prepared or permission-cleared material. Preserve originals. Keep the person at consequential decision points. Make uncertainty and synthetic media visible. Provide a human-led or offline alternative.
Review tools with these questions →