Code of Conduct

This Code of Conduct has two parts. Part I sets behavioral standards for everyone who participates in SAIN activities. Part II sets operational standards for chapters that operate under the SAIN brand. Together, they define what it means to be part of Safe AI Netherlands.

Part I: Member and Participant Standards

1. Our Values

• Respect. We treat every person with dignity, regardless of background, expertise, or viewpoint. We engage with ideas on their merits.
• Intellectual honesty. We represent evidence fairly, acknowledge uncertainty, distinguish personal views from established consensus, and correct ourselves when wrong.
• Inclusivity. We actively welcome people of all backgrounds, disciplines, and experience levels. AI safety benefits from diverse perspectives: technical and non-technical, academic and professional, junior and senior, different cultures, genders, etc.
• Collaboration. We default to cooperation. We share knowledge, credit contributions, and support each other's growth.
• Safety. We are committed to both AI safety and interpersonal safety. Every SAIN space must be one where people feel secure enough to learn, question, and contribute.

2. Scope

This Code applies to all SAIN-organized events (national and local, in-person and online), all SAIN digital spaces (WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, email lists, social media), all activities conducted under the SAIN name (courses, research collaborations, hackathons, publications, public appearances), and all individuals acting in a SAIN capacity (team members, volunteers, course participants, event attendees, research collaborators, and speakers). It applies equally across all chapters.

3. Expected Behavior

• Engage constructively. Disagree with ideas, not with people. Offer feedback that aims to improve, not diminish.
• Act in good faith. Assume positive intent. Give people the benefit of the doubt, especially when perspectives differ.
• Welcome newcomers. Everyone starts somewhere. Make space for people beginning their AI safety journey.
• Respect diverse perspectives on AI safety. SAIN spans the full spectrum, from near-term algorithmic harms to existential risks, from technical alignment to governance and policy. Engage respectfully across this spectrum, even when you personally prioritize one area.
• Give proper credit. Acknowledge contributions in research, content, and organizational work.
• Protect confidentiality. Do not share personal information, private communications, or unpublished research without consent.
• Use SAIN's name responsibly. Do not make public statements on behalf of SAIN without authorization. When expressing personal views, make clear they are your own.

4. Unacceptable Behavior

The following are not tolerated in any SAIN space or activity:

• Harassment: unwelcome sexual attention, stalking, intimidation, deliberate misgendering, sustained disruption of discussions.
• Discrimination: treating someone unfavorably based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion, or any other protected characteristic.
• Bullying: personal attacks, public shaming, threats, and patterns of behavior designed to make someone feel unwelcome or unsafe.
• Misrepresentation: claiming to speak for SAIN without authorization, or using the SAIN brand to endorse personal or external agendas.
• Academic dishonesty: plagiarism, data fabrication, failure to disclose conflicts of interest, or deliberate misrepresentation of evidence.
• Retaliation: any adverse action against someone for reporting a concern or participating in a conduct process.

5. Reporting and Enforcement

Anyone who experiences or witnesses a violation is encouraged to report it:

• Local chapter leadership: for issues within a specific chapter. Contact your chapter's conduct officer or chapter lead (or community manager and/or confidentiality person if available).
• SAIN national: for issues involving chapter leadership, cross-chapter matters, or situations where local reporting feels inappropriate. Contact: conduct@safeainetherlands.org.

Reports can be made in writing or in person. Anonymous reports are accepted, though they may limit investigative capacity.

Process: (1) Acknowledgment within 1 week. (2) Assessment of severity; local matters are handled by the chapter with SAIN national guidance if needed, serious or cross-chapter matters by SAIN national. (3) Investigation where warranted. All parties heard, confidentiality maintained. (4) Resolution, which may range from a private conversation to a formal warning, temporary suspension, or permanent removal from SAIN activities.

Principles: Consequences are proportional to severity and any pattern of past conduct. All parties are treated with respect. The accused has the opportunity to respond. Details are shared only with those who need to know. SAIN actively protects anyone who reports in good faith.

6. Commitment to Intellectual Diversity

AI safety is a broad and evolving field. Reasonable people disagree about the relative severity of different risks, the best mitigation approaches, and timelines. SAIN does not impose a single orthodoxy.

What we require:

• Engagement with the full spectrum. SAIN addresses everything from near-term societal harms (deepfakes, misinformation, algorithmic psychosis) to long-term existential risks (loss of control over advanced AI systems) and everything in between. Members need not prioritize all areas equally, but must respect that SAIN's scope encompasses them all.
• Evidence-based discourse. Arguments grounded in evidence and reasoning, not appeals to identity, authority, or tribal affiliation.
• Openness to updating. Intellectual humility is expected. The field moves fast.
• No gatekeeping. Anyone engaging in good faith with the mission belongs here.

Organizational Neutrality and Individual Expression

SAIN as an organization occupies a specific position on the AI safety spectrum: we are the conveyor and enabler of discussion across the full range of perspectives, not an advocate for any particular stance within it. In practice, this means:

• SAIN may share opportunities, events, and resources from organizations across the AI safety landscape (e.g., linking to a PauseAI event, an Anthropic talk, or an AI governance workshop) without this constituting an endorsement of that organization's specific positions.
• SAIN does not enter into explicit advocacy partnerships with organizations that hold a specific position within the AI safety debate. We platform the discussion; we do not pick sides.
• Individuals within SAIN are free to hold and express specific opinions on AI safety matters, including publicly. What they may not do is present those opinions as official SAIN positions (see Section 3: "Use SAIN's name responsibly").

This distinction must be especially clear to chapter PR teams and anyone communicating on SAIN's behalf. When in doubt, frame it as: "SAIN member X believes..." rather than "SAIN believes..."

Part II: Chapter Standards

1. Becoming a SAIN Chapter

Any group of motivated individuals in a Dutch city can apply to become a SAIN chapter (if such a chapter does not already exist in that particular city).

Requirements:

• A founding team of at least three committed individuals, including a designated chapter lead
• A genuine commitment to SAIN's mission as articulated in the Vision
• Agreement to this Code of Conduct in its entirety
• A brief chapter proposal (city, founding team, initial activity plans, institutional affiliations)
• Participation in an onboarding process with SAIN national

What SAIN national provides upon recognition:

• Permission to use the SAIN brand (SAIN [City])
• Access to SAIN's legal entity for fiscal sponsorship
• Google Workspace accounts and shared infrastructure
• Complete operational playbooks (4-team model, course curricula, facilitator guides, event templates)
• Direct mentorship from experienced chapter organizers
• Access to the national Research Hub
• Listing on the SAIN website and inclusion in national communications

2. Brand and Identity

The SAIN brand is a shared asset. Its strength depends on consistent use.

• Chapters use the format SAIN [City] (e.g., SAIN Groningen). No dashes, no alternative formats.
• Chapters use the SAIN visual identity (logo, color palette, typography) as provided. Minor local adaptations (e.g., adding a city name to the logo template) are permitted; significant deviations require approval from SAIN national.
• Chapters may manage their own local social media when activity warrants it, clearly identifying themselves as SAIN chapters.
• National-level communications (press statements, partnerships invoking the national brand) require coordination with SAIN national. Chapters do not speak on behalf of SAIN as a whole without authorization.

3. Minimum Activity Standards

To maintain recognition, chapters must meet these baselines (minimums, not ceilings):

Newly founded chapters receive a grace period of half a year to ramp up, with additional mentorship from SAIN national.

If a chapter falls below standards, the process is always support before sanctions: (1) SAIN national reaches out to understand the situation and offer help, (2) a remediation plan is agreed upon with a reasonable timeline, (3) if recovery isn't possible, an orderly wind-down or pause is arranged (see Section 7). The same escalation applies if SAIN national has concerns about a chapter's quality or alignment. Conversation and support first, formal action only as a last resort.

4. Governance Requirements

Each chapter must have:

• A chapter lead (or co-leads) who serves as primary contact with SAIN national and represents the chapter on the national council that meets regularly to discuss strategy, share best practices, and coordinate across the network (no formal legal governance power, but real influence)
• Clear internal roles, ideally following the 4-team model adapted to local capacity
• A transparent process for leadership transitions, communicated to SAIN national in advance. While chapter directors are expected to stay active for at least one year and team leads for at least half a year, this differs case by case.

Leadership conduct. Chapter directors are held to a higher standard. In addition to Part I, they must: model SAIN's values, handle conduct reports fairly and promptly, communicate transparently with their team and SAIN national, disclose conflicts of interest.

5. Financial Obligations

Fiscal sponsorship. SAIN's stichting serves as fiscal sponsor for all chapters. Grant funding flows through SAIN's bank account, earmarked for the specific chapter. The chapter lead decides how to spend within the approved budget; SAIN national provides oversight, signs off on expenditures, and handles accounting and funder reporting.

Transparency. Chapters maintain basic financial records, respond to reasonable information requests, and receive regular updates on their earmarked funds from SAIN national.

Budget approval. Chapter budgets are proposed by the chapter lead and approved by SAIN national. Significant expenditures outside the approved budget, and any financial commitments (contracts, leases, employment agreements) on behalf of SAIN, require prior authorization from the board.

Unfunded chapters. Chapters operating on a volunteer basis with no external funding have no financial obligations to SAIN national. There are no membership fees, brand licensing fees, or revenue-sharing requirements.

6. Autonomy and Flexibility

The guiding principle is local freedom, national coherence.

Chapters have full autonomy over event formats, scheduling, additional activities (book clubs, policy workshops, local consulting, and anything consistent with the mission), team structure, recruitment, local partnerships, and pacing of growth.

What must remain consistent: the SAIN mission and values, brand and visual identity, minimum activity standards, participation in national coordination, financial transparency, and adherence to Part I of this Code.

7. Grounds for Disaffiliation

In rare and serious cases, a chapter may lose recognition. This is a last resort after support and remediation have been exhausted.

Grounds: Persistent failure to meet minimum activity standards despite support; conduct that seriously damages the SAIN brand or reputation; serious violations of Part I by chapter leadership that are not addressed; misuse of SAIN's financial infrastructure; operating in a way fundamentally incompatible with SAIN's mission.

Process:

1. SAIN national communicates the concern in writing, specifying grounds and providing at least 30 days to respond.
2. Chapter leadership presents their perspective and may propose remediation.
3. The SAIN board makes the final decision.
4. If disaffiliation is decided: the chapter ceases using the SAIN brand; earmarked funds are handled per original grant terms; the chapter's website listing is removed; stakeholders are informed with appropriate discretion.
5. The chapter may appeal to the Advisory Board, whose recommendation the board will consider (though final authority rests with the board).

Voluntary departure. A chapter may leave the SAIN network at any time. The same brand and financial unwinding applies, but the process is collaborative. SAIN national will work with the departing chapter to ensure a smooth transition.

Adoption and Amendments

This Code of Conduct is adopted by the SAIN board and applies to all chapters, members, and participants from the date of adoption. Amendments may be proposed by any chapter through the Chapter Council or directly to SAIN national. The board decides on amendments after consulting the Chapter Council. Significant changes will be communicated to all chapters with reasonable advance notice.

*This document should be read alongside SAIN's Vision and Theory of Change.*