The Ethics of AI in Gaming: Transparency, Fairness & Responsibility

As AI becomes central to entertainment, we face new ethical questions. At PartAI, we've built our platform around principles of transparency, fairness, and responsible AI use. This article outlines our approach, the challenges we've encountered, and how we're addressing them.

Transparency: You Always Know What's AI

In Human Verification and AI Deception modes, the entire point is distinguishing AI from humans. We never hide AI involvement—it's central to gameplay.

Model Disclosure

Every lobby shows which AI models are being used:

• Image Generation: DALL-E 3, Flux Dev, Flux Schnell
• Text Generation: GPT-4o, GPT-4o Mini, Google Gemini
• Narration: GPT-4o for story-based modes

Players can see this information in lobby settings. We don't obscure which provider powers each experience.

Credit Costs Reflect AI Expenses

Different AI models have different costs. We pass these costs to players transparently:

• Flux Schnell (cheapest): 1 credit/round
• Flux Dev (standard): 3 credits/round
• DALL-E 3 (premium): 5 credits/round

This isn't hidden pricing—it reflects actual API costs plus minimal platform fees. We're not profiteering on AI access.

Fairness: Preventing AI Bias and Cheating

AI models have biases. We actively work to mitigate them in gameplay:

1. Prompt Sanitization

Players shouldn't be able to manipulate AI behavior beyond intended mechanics. We sanitize prompts to prevent:

• Jailbreaking: Attempting to override AI safety filters
• Prompt Injection: Inserting system instructions
• Adversarial Inputs: Exploiting model weaknesses

// Example: Remove system-level keywords
function sanitizePrompt(input: string): string {
  return input
    .replace(/system:|assistant:|user:/gi, '')
    .replace(/ignore.*instructions/gi, '')
    .slice(0, 500); // Max length
}

2. Fairness in AI-Generated Answers

In Human Verification, the AI generates fake answers to compete with humans. We ensure AI difficulty scales fairly:

• Subtle Mode: AI answers are obviously AI (good grammar, formal tone)
• Moderate Mode: AI uses some casual language
• Advanced Mode: AI mimics human writing styles very closely

Importantly, we don't train the AI on real player answers. It uses pre-defined style patterns, not learned behavior from your data.

3. No Hidden AI Assistance

We don't use AI to give advantages to losing players or disadvantage winning players. Some games implement "rubber-banding" (AI helps losers catch up). We believe this compromises competitive integrity.

Privacy: Your Data Stays Yours

The biggest concern with AI platforms: "Are you training AI on my data?"

Clear Answer: No

We use third-party AI providers (OpenAI, Google, Fal.ai). Here's how we handle your data:

What We Store:

• Game results (scores, win/loss)
• Lobby metadata (player count, duration)
• User profiles (username, email for authentication)
• Generated images (stored in our CDN)

What We DON'T Store:

• Your prompts beyond 30 days (auto-deleted)
• Chat messages (ephemeral, not persisted)
• Personal conversations in lobbies

What We DON'T Share with AI Providers:

When we send prompts to AI APIs, we:

• Strip personally identifiable information (usernames, emails)
• Use anonymized API calls
• Opt out of training data retention (where available)

Content Safety: Preventing Harmful Outputs

AI can generate inappropriate content. We protect players through multiple layers:

1. Provider-Level Safety Filters

OpenAI, Google, and Fal.ai all have built-in safety filters. DALL-E and Gemini block prompts for:

• Violence and gore
• Sexual content
• Hate symbols or speech
• Public figures (to prevent misinformation)

2. Our Word Blacklist

We maintain a blacklist of ~500 words that are automatically rejected before reaching the AI:

// Simplified example
const BLACKLIST = [
  "explicit terms",
  "slurs",
  "violent keywords"
];

if (BLACKLIST.some(word => prompt.includes(word))) {
  return { error: "Prompt contains prohibited content" };
}

3. Human Moderation & Reporting

Players can report inappropriate content. Our moderation team reviews reports within 24 hours and takes action:

• First offense: Warning
• Second offense: 7-day suspension
• Third offense: Permanent ban

Accessibility & Inclusion

AI tools can either enhance or hinder accessibility. Our approach:

Lowering Barriers to Entry

Traditional Pictionary requires drawing skill. AI image generation levels the playing field—anyone who can write can create compelling visuals.

• No manual dexterity required
• Language skills emphasized over artistic ability
• Screen readers compatible with text-based modes

Multilingual Support (Coming Soon)

We're working on localization for:

• German, French, Spanish UI
• AI models that accept non-English prompts
• Translated game modes

Environmental Impact

AI model inference has a carbon footprint. We're transparent about this:

Current Reality

• Generating one image: ~0.01-0.05 kWh (equivalent to running a LED bulb for 1-5 hours)
• Per game (30 rounds): ~0.3-1.5 kWh
• Comparable to: Streaming Netflix for 1-2 hours

Our Commitment

We're exploring partnerships with carbon-neutral AI providers and investigating carbon offset programs. Currently:

• Vercel (our host) runs on renewable energy
• Supabase uses AWS regions with high renewable energy mix
• We optimize prompts to reduce unnecessary generations

Challenges We're Still Solving

Honesty requires admitting where we fall short:

1. AI Model Bias

AI image models have documented biases (e.g., gender stereotypes, Western-centric imagery). While we can't fix the underlying models, we:

• Educate players about these biases in our docs
• Choose providers actively working on bias reduction
• Plan to offer model selection to give players choice

2. Economic Impact on Artists

AI image generation disrupts creative industries. We acknowledge this concern. Our stance:

• PartAI is entertainment/gaming, not professional art creation
• We support ethical AI training (opt-in artist datasets)
• We're exploring artist partnerships for custom assets

3. Dependent on Third-Party AI Providers

If OpenAI or Google change policies, we must adapt. Long-term, we're investigating:

• Self-hosted open-source models (Stable Diffusion, Llama)
• Multi-provider redundancy (already implemented)
• Community-trained models specific to PartAI styles

How We Involve the Community

Ethics shouldn't be top-down. We've established:

Ethics Advisory Panel (2026)

A group of 12 volunteer players who:

• Review new features for ethical concerns
• Provide feedback on content moderation policies
• Represent diverse perspectives (age, location, background)

Transparency Reports (Quarterly)

Starting Q2 2026, we'll publish:

• Content moderation statistics
• AI provider changes and why
• Feature decisions influenced by ethics considerations

Your Role as a Player

Ethical AI gaming is a shared responsibility. You can help by:

• Reporting inappropriate content (flagging feature in every game)
• Using AI responsibly (don't try to generate harmful content)
• Giving feedback (contact us with concerns)
• Educating others (share this article with your lobby)

Looking Forward

AI ethics is an evolving field. As technology changes, our policies will adapt. We commit to:

• Regular policy reviews (every 6 months)
• Staying informed on AI ethics research
• Listening to player feedback
• Prioritizing player protection over profit