For Our Members
Member Guidelines
How CAIA members conduct themselves, contribute to the community, and uphold responsible AI practice across the Caribbean.
These Guidelines extend the principles of the Association Charter into the day to day practice of membership. They apply to every member, officer, volunteer, and contractor of the Caribbean AI Association, on every channel and at every event. They are written plainly because they are meant to be followed, not interpreted.
01
Community Conduct
- Treat every member, guest, and member of the Caribbean public with respect, regardless of nationality, language, faith, ability, or background.
- Engage in disagreement with care. Critique ideas, not people. Assume that fellow members are acting in good faith until evidence proves otherwise.
- Do not harass, intimidate, or discriminate. Violations are grounds for suspension or removal from the Association.
- Honor the languages of the Caribbean. Speak, write, and present in the language that serves your audience, including Creole, Patois, Papiamentu, French, Spanish, Dutch, and English.
02
Responsible AI Practice
- Design and deploy AI systems with a clear understanding of who they affect and how harm could occur.
- Test for bias against Caribbean populations before release, especially in language, image, voice, and decision systems that touch credit, housing, employment, health, or justice.
- Be honest about the limits of a model. Do not claim performance you have not measured on representative Caribbean data.
- Protect personal data. Apply the strictest applicable Caribbean and international data protection standard when in doubt.
- Disclose the use of AI in published work, public communications, and consumer products where a reasonable person would want to know.
03
Research and Publication
- Cite sources. Caribbean scholarship is often under-cited even by Caribbean writers. Correct that habit in your own work.
- Make data, code, and methodology available where you can. Open science strengthens the region.
- Do not publish under the CAIA name without Board review. Publish under your own name with CAIA membership disclosed where relevant.
- Where you contribute to CAIA blogs, working papers, or public submissions, accept that the Association reserves the right to edit for clarity, accuracy, and consistency with this Charter.
04
Conflicts of Interest
- Declare commercial, political, and personal interests that bear on your CAIA work at the point they become relevant.
- Recuse yourself from Association decisions where you stand to gain or lose materially.
- Do not use the CAIA name, logo, or member directory to solicit business without written permission.
05
Use of the CAIA Name and Brand
- Members may state that they are members of the Caribbean AI Association. Members may not state or imply that the Association endorses their products, research, or political positions without written approval.
- The CAIA logo is reserved for official Association use. A separate member badge is available on request for use on personal sites, talks, and resumes.
- Public statements representing the Association are made by the Chair, the Executive, or an officer designated by the Board.
06
Working Groups and Chapters
- Members may form working groups focused on a topic, sector, or country chapter, subject to Board recognition.
- Working groups operate openly, publish minutes, and rotate leadership.
- Country chapters are encouraged in every Caribbean nation. Chapters set their own meeting cadence and report annually to the Board.
07
Privacy and Communications
- Member contact details are not shared outside the Association without consent.
- What is said in a closed working group session stays in the room unless the group agrees otherwise.
- Communications on Association channels follow the same standards of conduct as in-person events.
08
Enforcement
- Concerns about member conduct may be raised in confidence to conduct@caribbeanaiassociation.com.
- The Chair appoints a three-person review panel from the Board to consider each concern.
- Sanctions, in escalating order, are private warning, public censure, suspension of membership, and removal from the Association. Members have the right to respond before a sanction is finalized.
- Decisions are recorded and reported in summary form in the Association's annual report.
09
Review
- These Guidelines are reviewed annually by the Board and updated as the region and the technology evolve.
- Members may propose amendments at any time through their working group or country chapter.
Questions about these Guidelines may be directed to conduct@caribbeanaiassociation.com. The full Association Charter is published at /charter.