Responsible Use of AI Moderation: Participant Safeguarding Map

Responsible Use of AI Moderation:

Participant Safeguarding Map, Operational Decision Levels & Assessing Participant Vulnerability

Version 1

Format: Digital Download (5-Page E-Manual + Customizable Excel Spreadsheet)

Best For: Design Leads, UX Researchers, UX Designers, Research Ops, Product Strategists, and Design Ethics Leads

Take the Guesswork Out of AI-Augmented Research

Deciding when to augment 1:1 participant interviews with AI, and when a human researcher is non-negotiable, is one of the trickiest calls a research team can make.

The Participant Safeguarding Map gives your team a standardized, defensible framework to evaluate participant vulnerability, mitigate ethical risks, and establish clear operational guardrails before launching a study.

What’s Included:

• 3-Step Assessment Framework: A repeatable process to evaluate interview safety and determine when AI augmentation is viable or not recommended.

• High-Level Decision Flowchart: A visual roadmap to align stakeholders, research leads, and legal/ethics teams quickly.

• 4-Category Vulnerability Scorecard: Categorize interview risks (Low, Moderate, High, or Highest Risk) using standardized criteria.

• Operational Guardrail Recommendations: Ready-to-use protocols to safeguard participant well-being, and participant informed consent.

• Adaptable Excel Scorecard (.xlsx): A customizable template to score individual research projects and archive compliance decisions.