Dance World serves an arts-led community. We may use AI-assisted tools to support content and operations, and we aim to do so in a way that protects customer trust and respects creatives.

We recognise that some people have serious concerns about how certain generative AI systems were trained, including whether creators’ work may have been used without consent. While there are differing views and ongoing debates on this topic, we take the concern seriously and aim to set clear boundaries on how we use AI-assisted tools.

We use AI as an assistant, not a replacement. Our approach is guided by these principles:

• Transparency: Where AI assistance materially contributes to published creative content, we aim to label it clearly and in context.
• Human-led brand: Our core brand storytelling remains grounded in real products, real expertise, and real people.
• Respect for creatives: When we need bespoke creative work (photography, video, illustration, design), we will commission and pay professionals.
• Accuracy over aesthetics: Product depiction should remain truthful. We will not use AI assistance in ways that risk misleading customers about colour, texture, fit, or construction.

We may use AI-assisted tools in limited, practical ways, with human oversight:

A. Text and communication support (human reviewed)

• Drafting and improving clarity of text (e.g., product descriptions, fit/size guidance, FAQs, newsletters).
• Translation support, with human review for accuracy and tone.
• Content planning and ideation (e.g., themes, outlines, campaign structure).

B. AI-assisted illustrations (rare, clearly labelled, and non-imitative)

• On occasion, we may use AI-assisted tools to create clearly non-photographic, stylised illustrations (e.g., simple cartoons) for playful concepts.
• Where used, we aim to label these as “AI-assisted illustration” (or similar wording) in the caption, on-image note, or nearby context.
• We aim to keep these uses separate from our core product and campaign imagery, which remains real and human-led.
• If we believe an AI-assisted illustration could reasonably undermine trust in the community, we may choose not to use it.

C. Customer experience and operations

• Improving site search, product tagging, and categorisation to help customers find what they need.
• Assisting our team with customer service workflows (e.g., summarising messages to speed up responses), with human review before anything is sent.
• Accessibility support such as alt-text suggestions, reviewed by humans.

To protect trust and avoid misleading or extractive uses, Dance World does not do the following:

• No fake “real” people: We do not present AI-generated people as real dancers/models in a way that implies a real photo shoot took place.
• No AI as the product “truth”: We do not use AI-generated or heavily AI-altered imagery as the sole/primary source of truth for product colour, fabric texture, fit, proportions, construction details, or quality.
• No impersonation of creators: We do not intentionally use AI to imitate the recognisable style of a specific living artist or replicate identifiable creators.
• No misleading endorsements: We do not create AI-assisted content that implies endorsement, participation, or affiliation by real individuals or organisations without permission.
• No solely automated significant decisions: We do not use AI to make solely automated decisions that would significantly affect customers without meaningful human involvement and appropriate safeguards.

When AI assistance materially contributes to published content, we aim to be transparent in context. Examples of labels we may use:

• “AI-assisted illustration”
• “AI-assisted concept image”
• “AI-assisted copy/editing”

We may not label every behind-the-scenes productivity use (e.g., internal drafting), but we aim to label where it matters for customer understanding and community trust.

Dance World is built on relationships in dance. Our commitments are:

• We will continue investing in real photography and real creative work for product presentation and campaigns.
• We will collaborate with photographers, videographers, designers, dancers, and teachers where it adds value  and we pay for commissioned work.
• We treat AI-assisted tools as support tools, not a substitute for creative partnerships or community involvement.

When using AI-assisted tools, we aim to apply practical safeguards:

• We aim to minimise personal data shared with third-party tools.
• We aim to avoid inputting sensitive personal information into general-purpose AI systems unless strictly necessary and appropriately protected.
• We aim to keep human oversight on customer-facing outputs.
• Personal data handling is governed by our Privacy Policy and applicable data protection law.

AI tools evolve quickly, so we aim to review this policy periodically and may update it to reflect:

• changes in technology,
• customer expectations,
• operational learnings,
• regulatory guidance.