Ethically sourced AI training data

Adults who chose to take part

Every GoKuna contributor signs up themselves, with their own email address. Before their first task they confirm they are 18 or older, give their country and agree to only submit media they are authorized to share. Sign-in uses an emailed link, so each account is tied to an inbox the contributor controls.

No recording is gathered in the background. Each recording exists because a contributor read a brief, reserved the task, recorded it, previewed it and chose to upload it.

Consent recorded per task

Each task records which version of the consent terms applied to it, so the terms behind any recording can be traced to the task it was made for. Contributors can cancel a reservation before they submit.

Payment terms, including how recordings are used, are shown wherever a contributor is about to earn or be paid, and they are published in full on the payment terms page.

A licence stated in one sentence

Contributors keep ownership of what they record. They grant a licence to use accepted recordings for training and evaluating machine learning models, including on behalf of GoKuna's customers.

Accepted recordings are kept as part of the delivered dataset. A contributor can delete their account at any time, which removes their profile and any recordings not yet accepted.

Pay that is stated, locked and actually paid

Contributors see the reward for a task before they reserve it, and the amount shown when they reserve is the amount they earn, even if the task changes later. Accepted work is paid through Stripe to a bank account the contributor verifies with Stripe directly. There is no fee to contributors and no minimum payout.

When GoKuna runs a brief, GoKuna owes contributors payment for accepted work. Contributors deal with one platform and one set of terms.

Privacy in front of the camera

Capture rules tell contributors to keep identifiable bystanders, private information and other people's property out of frame unless they have permission. Audio tasks can require no voices, and handwriting phrases contain nothing personal.

Product analytics on the contributor side are optional and ask for consent, and they exclude media and email addresses. Bank details go to Stripe; GoKuna never sees them.

Review by a person

Every submission is reviewed by a person against the stated requirements before it is accepted. A rejection always comes with the reason, so contributors are never left guessing, and they can record again while the task is open.

The decision is emailed to the contributor and shown in their account next to what they have earned, so every accepted recording has a matching, visible payment record.

Questions to ask any data supplier

An ethics claim is only as good as the answers behind it. Ask any supplier: did each contributor sign up themselves, and confirm their age? Which consent terms applied to each recording, and can you trace them? What licence was granted, and for what use? Was pay stated before the work was done, and was it actually paid? What rules kept bystanders and private information out? Who checked each item?

If a supplier cannot answer one of these for the data you are buying, you cannot answer it either when your own customers, auditors or users ask. GoKuna's answers are on this page, and they apply to every collection it runs.

Commissioning an ethically sourced dataset

Send a brief from the homepage form with your email and a description of the data, how you will use it, and any budget or timing you have in mind. GoKuna replies by email with a quote, and scope and price are agreed before collection starts. Your organisation is not named to contributors.

If your own review needs particular assurances, such as country limits or what must stay out of frame, put them in the brief. They become instructions contributors follow and rules reviewers check.

What does ethically sourced training data mean?

Data where each contributor knowingly chose to take part, agreed to a stated use, was paid a stated amount for it, and was protected from exposing other people or private information. GoKuna builds each of those into its task flow.

Are contributors paid?

Yes. Accepted work is paid at the reward shown before the contributor reserved the task, through Stripe, with no fee to the contributor.

Can contributors withdraw?

They can cancel a reservation before submitting, and delete their account at any time, which removes recordings not yet accepted.

Are minors involved?

No. Contributors must confirm they are 18 or older before their first task.