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Y4: AI Science-Fair Project (Capstone)Lesson 6 of 12

6 · Your plan + data ethics (consent, privacy, no personal data)

Now you'll write your plan: the steps you'll follow, the materials (or example photos/sounds) you need, and — just as important — your data-ethics rules. To train an AI you have to collect examples (this is your data). How you collect that data is a real part of doing science honestly.

Here are the rules that keep your project safe and fair. They aren't extra — for a science fair, ethics are part of being allowed to compete at all.

1. No personal data. Build your project around objects, sounds, plants, or your own poses — not other people's faces, voices, names, addresses, or anything private. This is the same privacy rule from F3: if you wouldn't tell it to a stranger, don't put it in your data. UNICEF lists protecting children's data and privacy as one of the most important rules for AI made for kids.

2. Get consent. Consent means asking first and getting a clear yes. If anyone or anything besides you is involved, ask permission:

  • Photographing your family's pet? Ask the family.
  • Recording sounds at home or school? Ask the grown-up in charge.
  • Using a friend's drawing or voice? You'd need their (and a parent's) okay — which is exactly why studying objects is simpler.

3. Keep your data private and safe. Store your example files where only you and your grown-up can see them. Don't post other people's pictures or info online. Don't upload anything private to a public AI tool.

4. Be fair to everyone your project might touch. If your project involves people at all, ask: could this be unfair to someone, or make them uncomfortable? If yes, change the plan. The big student fairs (Society for Science / ISEF) have rules exactly like these — judges check that you treated data and people responsibly.

Write your plan with these headers: Question · Hypothesis · Materials/Data · Steps · Data-ethics rules (consent + privacy + no personal data) · How I'll measure results. A clear plan now makes the building easy.

Think about it. Why is studying objects or your own poses an easier, safer choice than studying other people's faces? Name two ethics rules your project will follow.

Sources

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