108 lines
7.0 KiB
Markdown
108 lines
7.0 KiB
Markdown
# Terms of Service
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**Last updated:** October 6, 2026
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## In plain language
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- You are a **member**, not a customer. You help govern this project.
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- We provide AI chat and API access through open models, with **a variety of privacy and value options** (some models run in encrypted enclaves; others differ — see §3).
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- Your prompts and the AI's outputs are yours to keep.
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- We don't train on your data, and we don't sell it.
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- AI can be wrong. Use your judgment.
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- If you misuse the service, we may remove you (per our Charter) — and you are responsible for what you do with it (§4).
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- Our liability is limited to what you've paid in dues.
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The full terms are below. If anything is unclear, write to info@inference.coop.
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---
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## 1. Who we are
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The **Inference Cooperative** ("we", "us") is a member-governed project providing AI inference. We are fiscally sponsored by **Metagov**, a nonprofit that provides our financial and legal structure.
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When you join, you become a **member** — someone with a voice in how the project is run — not a customer of a vendor.
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## 2. Membership
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- Membership is through **Open Collective**, where you pay dues on a sliding
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scale (currently $5/month minimum).
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- You must be **18 or older** to join.
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- Membership is governed by our [Charter](charter.md), including our Code of Conduct.
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- We may suspend or remove membership for Code of Conduct violations or non-payment, as described in the Charter.
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## 3. The service
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We provide:
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- **AI chat and a developer API** through a changing catalog of open models from multiple providers. You choose per task not just *which model*, but *which affordances it offers* — models differ in privacy architecture, energy source, openness, capability, and cost. Some run inference inside encrypted enclaves; others do not. Some run on renewable energy; others do not. The catalog changes as members decide, and the specific models and providers available will evolve.
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- **Web search** and **file uploads** within the chat interface.
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- **Governance** — a seat in decisions about models, pricing, and direction.
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Models are **not interchangeable in their affordances**. Each model has its own privacy, sustainability, and openness properties, and the set of available models changes over time. You are **responsible for assessing** which model fits your needs for a given task — in particular its privacy properties — before relying on it. See our [Privacy Policy](privacy-policy.md) for what this means in practice.
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The service is provided **"as is"** and may change as the project evolves. We do not guarantee uptime or specific performance at this stage.
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## 4. Acceptable use
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You agree not to use the service to:
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- Violate any law or regulation.
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- Generate, distribute, or facilitate **illegal, harmful, abusive, or discriminatory content** — including content that sexualizes minors, defrauds, incites violence, or harasses others.
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- Create **deepfakes, impersonations, or deceptive media** of real people without their consent.
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- Process **regulated data** — including protected health information (e.g. HIPAA), payment-card data, or other categories that require a separate legal agreement — unless we have agreed to that in writing.
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- Submit **special-category personal data** under GDPR Article 9 (health, ethnicity, political views, religion, biometrics, etc.) without a written agreement.
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- Use the service in or for the benefit of **embargoed or sanctioned jurisdictions or persons**, or otherwise in violation of **export-control or sanctions law**.
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- Use AI outputs as the **sole basis for consequential decisions** — legal, medical, financial, employment, housing, or safety-critical — without appropriate human review and professional oversight.
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- Use the service for **high-risk or fail-safe** applications (e.g. critical infrastructure, life-support, weapons systems).
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- Attempt to circumvent usage limits, the privacy architecture, or rate limits.
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- Share your account credentials, or resell or redistribute access to the service.
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You are **responsible for what you submit and what you do with AI outputs**, and you must have the rights needed to submit your content.
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## 5. Usage limits
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- Membership includes a **monthly credit budget** (currently $15 of usage, the same for every member regardless of what you pay).
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- Members may also purchase **credit packs**: non-expiring credits drawn only
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after the monthly budget is exhausted. Credits do not expire and carry over
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from month to month.
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- When your budget is exhausted, requests pause until the next cycle.
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- The pricing and budget model is itself a governance decision — members can change it through Loomio.
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## 6. Your content
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- Your prompts and the AI's outputs are yours to keep.
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- We do **not** train models on your data.
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- We do **not** sell or share your content.
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- See our [Privacy Policy](privacy-policy.md) for how your data is handled.
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## 7. Privacy
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Privacy is a core value, but it is **not uniform across the service** — and the set of available models changes over time. Models differ in their privacy affordances: some run inference in encrypted enclaves so inputs and outputs are not readable in plaintext at the inference step, while others are selected for renewable energy or openness rather than architectural privacy. **You are responsible for assessing each model's privacy properties and choosing one that matches your needs.** See the [Privacy Policy](privacy-policy.md) for the current picture.
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## 8. Termination
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- You may leave at any time by cancelling on Open Collective.
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- On leaving, your account is deactivated (data preserved for reactivation). You may request full deletion.
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- We may remove members per the Charter (Code of Conduct, non-payment).
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## 9. Governance
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- Decisions are made through **Loomio** and governed by the [Charter](charter.md).
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- During the pilot phase, the General Manager holds final discretion; this transitions to full member governance as the project grows.
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## 10. Disclaimers, liability, and indemnity
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- **AI outputs may be inaccurate, biased, or inappropriate.** We provide no warranty of correctness. Use your judgment, and do not rely on outputs as a sole source of truth or as a substitute for professional advice.
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- To the maximum extent permitted by law, our liability is limited to the amount of dues you have paid.
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- Members are not personally liable for the project's obligations.
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- **You agree to indemnify and hold harmless** the Inference Cooperative, Metagov, and their officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from **your use of the service, your content, your violation of law or third-party rights, or your violation of these Terms**. In plain terms: if what you do with the service causes a legal problem, it is your responsibility, not the co-op's or Metagov's.
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## 11. Changes to these terms
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- We may update these terms as the project evolves.
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- Material changes are announced to members and, where appropriate, decided through Loomio.
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## 12. Contact
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**info@inference.coop**
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