Guidance
on the Use
of AI
for individual artist applicants to Jerome Foundation programs
AI tools in the application preparation process
The Foundation recognizes that some applicants use artificial intelligence (AI) tools while preparing their grant application materials. As a supporter of individual artists, the Foundation values the human experience in artmaking. We strongly encourage you to keep your voice, perspective, and ways of thinking about your work front and center. AI tools may help with tasks like proofreading, translation, or summarizing, but the substance, perspective, ideas, and concepts in your application must be your own.
AI tools in the artistic process
We do not accept AI-generated or AI-augmented work samples. Incidental use of AI-powered tools in standard post-production or editing workflows, such as audio mastering, image denoising, or grammar checking, is not what this restriction targets.
The one exception is work from artists whose ongoing practice explores and interrogates the uses of AI in meaningful and deliberate ways. In such cases, applicants must articulate how they employ AI in their work in the narrative of their application and the “AI Disclosure” field.
Applicants must hold the copyright to their submitted work samples. Because the copyright status of AI-generated content is unsettled and varies by jurisdiction, this is an additional reason to exercise care.
Applicants who submit AI-generated or AI-augmented work samples in any category without disclosure will be deemed ineligible at any stage of the review process, or after grants have been made.
How AI is used in the application and review process
In the spirit of transparency, we want to be clear about how Foundation staff do and do not use AI tools when working with your application.
Foundation staff will not enter into any AI tool your personal information, application narrative, and work samples. The one exception to this rule is when there is the need to provide audio transcription of applicants’ video responses to narrative questions. An AI tool may be used for the purpose of creating transcripts for accessibility. AI will not be used to summarize the content of your application. Panelists are likewise instructed not to enter any part of your application into AI tools. The reading, evaluation, and discussion of your work is done by people.
Staff may use AI tools in the broader administration of the grants program without entering your application content. For example, staff may use AI to organize internal notes from panel discussions (without including information that would identify an individual) or analyze aggregate data across a full grant cycle, or to caption webinar and workshop videos. When staff use AI for these purposes, it is through Foundation-provisioned accounts configured so that our inputs are not used to train the underlying AI models, and any reports, communications, etc. are reviewed and edited by a person.