Ethics Circle Charter

Version 1.0 — February 2026

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Purpose

The Ethics Circle is the community-elected body responsible for the operational integrity of Future’s Edge’s Ethical AI Policy. It is an accountability mechanism — not a leadership committee. It holds the organisation’s AI practices to the standard the policy sets, and reports directly to the community.

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Composition

Size: Five to seven members

Mandatory diversity requirements:

• At minimum two seats reserved for members from under-served populations or emerging economy countries
• At minimum one seat for a youth member under 25 years of age
• No seat may be held by a Future’s Edge commercial team member (to avoid conflict of interest)

Skills represented across the circle (collectively, not individually):

• Technical literacy in AI systems
• Understanding of governance and policy
• Community organising or lived experience working with under-served groups
• Legal or compliance background (desirable but not required)
• Facilitation and conflict resolution

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Election process

Eligibility:

• Active Future’s Edge member for at minimum six months
• Reputation score above community median (demonstrates trusted participation)
• No current governance penalties or unresolved ethics complaints

Nomination:

• Self-nomination or community nomination (with nominee consent)
• Nomination window: 30 days, announced at least 60 days before election
• Nominees publish a plain-language statement (max 500 words) on why they want to serve

Voting:

• DAO vote using quadratic voting to reduce plutocracy risk
• Open for 14 days
• Results published with full transparency (vote counts, participation rate)

Terms:

• Two-year terms, staggered so not all seats turn over at once
• Members may serve consecutive terms but a maximum of two terms (four years total)
• Mid-term resignations trigger a by-election within 60 days

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Roles within the circle

Facilitator (elected by the circle from among its members):

• Convenes meetings
• Represents the circle in community updates
• Ensures minutes and reports are published on time
• Serves a one-year term; role rotates

Deputy facilitator:

• Supports facilitator
• Steps in during facilitator absence
• Ensures continuity

All members share responsibility for:

• Reviewing community impact assessments
• Conducting or commissioning bias audits
• Investigating member concerns
• Publishing the annual accountability report

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Powers and responsibilities

Powers

1. Approve or reject AI deployments — No AI tool may be used with members or community until the Ethics Circle has approved its CIA
2. Suspend tools that violate principles — If a bias audit or concern investigation reveals a principle violation, the Circle may suspend the tool immediately pending remediation
3. Investigate concerns — Any member or affected stakeholder may raise a concern; the Circle investigates and publishes findings
4. Propose policy amendments — The Circle may propose amendments to the Ethical AI Policy, which go to community vote
5. Commission independent audits — The Circle may engage external experts to audit AI systems at the organisation’s expense
6. Issue public accountability statements — The Circle speaks for the policy, not for leadership

The Responsibilities

1. Review all CIAs within 14 days of submission
2. Publish all decisions (anonymising individual details where appropriate)
3. Maintain the AI Use Case Register as an accurate, current, public record
4. Conduct annual bias audits on all high-impact tools
5. Publish an annual accountability report by March 31 each year
6. Meet at minimum monthly (more often if concerns are raised)
7. Respond to member concerns within five business days of receipt

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What the Ethics Circle cannot do

• Overrule the three non-negotiables (community ratification required)
• Make decisions on behalf of the community without consultation on major changes
• Hold closed or private meetings (all proceedings are documented and published)
• Accept compensation or gifts from vendors or partners whose tools they are reviewing

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Meeting cadence and transparency

Frequency: At minimum monthly; more often as needed
Format: Virtual or in-person; accessible to members in multiple time zones
Minutes: Published within seven days of each meeting
Attendance: Open for community observation (though decisions are made by the Circle)

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Accountability of the Circle itself

The Ethics Circle is accountable to the community via:

• Annual re-election (staggered terms)
• Public publishing of all decisions and their reasoning
• The annual accountability report, which includes a section on the Circle’s own performance
• Community feedback sessions held at minimum twice per year

A Circle member may be recalled by:

• A petition signed by 10% of active members, triggering a recall vote
• A supermajority (75%) vote of the full community
• A finding of misconduct by the community dispute resolution process

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Resources and support

The Ethics Circle has access to:

• A dedicated budget for independent audits and expert consultation (approved annually by community vote)
• Administrative support from Future’s Edge operations (minute-taking, scheduling, register maintenance)
• Legal counsel where required for complex compliance questions
• Training in AI ethics, bias auditing, and governance best practices

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First election and transition

Founding Ethics Circle:

• First election held within 90 days of policy ratification
• Initial terms staggered (three members serve one year, remainder serve two years) to establish rotation
• Founding Circle responsible for operationalising the use case register and establishing the audit schedule

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Adopted: February 2026
Next review: February 2027

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