Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence

The Restoration Industry Association (RIA) is committed to the ethical, secure, and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to foster innovation while protecting member interests, confidentiality, and stakeholder trust. The RIA also acknowledges the growing influence of generative AI technologies, including deep learning models and other generative AI that can generate human-like text, images, and other content.

While the RIA remains committed to adopting new technologies to aid in our mission when possible, we also understand the risks and limitations of AI tools and want to ensure responsible and ethical use. RIA employees, volunteers, members, contractors, expert reviewers, consultants, and third-party individuals must abide by the terms of this RIA Ai Use Policy when utilizing Ai for an RIA related purpose.

Responsible AI Usage
It is important to understand the inherent benefits, challenges, and risks associated with using AI tools and engage with AI activities responsibly. RIA employees, volunteers, members, contractors, expert reviewers, consultants, and third-party individuals, when utilizing AI for RIA-related purposes, must:
● Adhere to data security protocols, including strong password usage and encryption requirements.
● Refrain from entering sensitive, confidential, proprietary, or member-related data into AI tools.
● Obtain necessary data use permissions to the maximum extent possible, and use anonymized data for inputs.
● Disclose the use of AI in developing RIA-related content.
● Maintain active human involvement and oversight in decision-making when applying and utilizing AI tools.
● Review all AI-generated content for accuracy, appropriateness, and potential biases and
hallucinations before relying on it for association purposes. If a reliable source cannot be found to verify factual information generated by the AI tool, that information cannot be used for association purposes.
● Obtain explicit consent from all participants before using AI tools in meetings, calls, or collaborative settings.

● Prohibit AI use for transcription, summarization, or representation without notification and
agreement.
● Recognize that all content created under RIA assignments is the property of the RIA.
● Report promptly any issues of data security, ethics, or inappropriate use of AI tools to the RIA CEO.
● Follow appropriate guidelines regarding the use of AI-assisted content for teaching and learning
resources (e.g., peer-reviewed journals, standards, position papers, webinars, presentations,
articles, etc.).
● Accept responsibility for any outcomes resulting from the use of AI-generated material. This includes ensuring to obtain permission for use of and giving proper attribution for copyrighted material.
● Ensure authorized AI generated content reflects RIA’s brand tone, style, and formatting guidelines.
● Submit RIA-related content for review, edit, and approval before submitting on behalf of the RIA (includes blogs, articles, proposals, presentations, RFP/outlines, official emails, etc.)

Intellectual Property
The RIA is committed to protecting its Intellectual Property and that of others. Under this policy:
● Entry of RIA Intellectual Property into AI tools is prohibited without the express written permission
of the RIA senior leadership staff.
● Unauthorized AI-generated derivatives of RIA Intellectual Property are not permitted.

Implementation and Compliance
Adherence to this policy is crucial. Individuals shall report any suspected or known misuse of AI pertaining to RIA-related content, presentations, or publications to the RIA CEO, which may result in disciplinary action.