Invisible InfrastructureCatalog record
26Policy TemplateRELEASED2026-09-23

AI Acceptable-Use Policy

Jake Lawrence · AI Governance / Public Administration / Nonprofit Operations · AI Systems theme

Read online The interactive edition of this piece

Abstract

A plain-language AI policy for small governments and nonprofits, where every rule shows how to follow it with a spreadsheet and where this site enforces the same rule in code. Answer six questions and it trims itself to the rules you need.

A versioned, CC BY 4.0 template of fifteen rules for the AI tools a small public body or nonprofit actually uses: approved tools only, sensitive data kept out, a person approving anything AI-drafted before it goes out, a written never-publish list, nonpartisan output for public bodies, honest disclosure, source checking, spending caps, public rate limits, key handling, least privilege, an off switch, a usage record, watching for automations that quietly stop, and a named owner with a review date. Each rule carries its reason, a no-code way to follow it, and links to the files in this repository that enforce the same rule. Those links are tested on every change, and the policy's own review date is enforced by a test that fails once it passes. Six yes-or-no questions trim the template, and the trimmed policy downloads as Markdown to adapt. Not legal advice.

Record details

Type
Policy Template
Method
Content-as-code policy template with CI-verified enforcement evidence and an enforced review date
Field
AI Governance / Public Administration / Nonprofit Operations
Subjects
AI Governance, Public Administration, AI Systems
Status
Published (released)
Released
2026-09-23

Cite and listen

Related in the catalog

  • Seeing Like an AI CompanyInteractive Essay

    Seeing Like an AI Company reads a frontier lab's proposal to govern AI from the top down. The acceptable-use policy works from the bottom up: fifteen rules a village office or a food bank can adopt this week, each with a no-code way to follow it.

  • Case Study LibraryField Data

    The Case Study Library audits how this site's code was built, pull request by pull request. The acceptable-use policy points at that same code as evidence: every rule links to the file that enforces it, and a test fails if the enforcement disappears.

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