Acceptable AI Use Policy

Last Modified: Feb 29th, 2024

This Acceptable AI Use Policy (this “Policy”) forms part of both Modular’s Terms of Use (https://modular.com/legal/terms), and governs User use of the Max Platform. This Policy outlines certain restricted activities in which Users may not engage while using the Max Platform. Modular reserves the right to issue warnings, suspend, and/or terminate User Accounts for any suspected or actual violation(s) of or failure(s) to comply with the guidelines set forth in this Policy.

Modular remains committed to building a community where Users can safely interact with and build on top of our Max Platform in meaningful, honest, and productive ways. This Policy is in place to ensure both User safety and end-user of User-Generated Content and Application safety, while ensuring responsible use of the Max Platform.

Users are reminded that generative artificial intelligence tools and models are capable of producing factually inaccurate, harmful, or biased information. Modular’s goal is to make responsible artificial products available on a platform that emphasizes responsible use of artificial tools for a variety of use cases. This Policy is designed with those principles in mind.

1. Compliance with Laws and Regulations

Users shall use the Max Platform in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and all of the guidelines set forth herein.

2. Intellectual Property, Authenticity, and Private Information

We do not allow content or activity on the Max Platform that:

  • attempts to reverse engineer, scrape, or otherwise utilize the Max Platform for any competitive purposes, including but not limited to discovering Modular IP that constitutes Confidential Information for use in a competitive product; 
  • infringes any intellectual property, privacy, or proprietary right of any party, including patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity, personal information or other rights;
  • unlawfully shares unauthorized product licensing keys, software for generating unauthorized product licensing keys, or software for bypassing checks for product licensing keys, including extension of a free license beyond its trial period; or
  • impersonates any person or entity, including any of our employees or representatives, including through false association with Modular, or by fraudulently misrepresenting one’s identity or the Max Platform’s purpose.
3. Spam, Fraudulent, Dishonest, Illegal, and Inauthentic Activity

We do not allow User Generated Content, use of, or activity on the Max Platform that comprises of:

  • automated excessive bulk activity and coordinated inauthentic activity, such as
  1. spamming
  2. cryptocurrency mining;
  • bulk distribution of promotions and advertising;
  • inauthentic interactions, such as fake accounts and automated inauthentic activity;
  • creation of or participation in secondary markets for the purpose of the proliferation of inauthentic activity;
  • using the Max Platform for propagating abuse on other platforms;
  • phishing or attempted phishing; or
  • using the Max Platform for any form of excessive automated bulk activity, to place undue burden on our servers through automated means, or to relay any form of unsolicited advertising or solicitation through our servers, such as get-rich-quick schemes.

Users may not use the Max Platform to:

  • Engage in any illegal activity;
  • Provide instructions on how to create or facilitate the exchange of illegal substances or goods;
  • Encourage or provide instructions on how to engage in or facilitate illegal services such as human trafficking or prostitution;
  • Design, market, help distribute or utilize weapons, explosives, dangerous materials or other systems designed to cause harm to or loss of human life;
  • Provide instructions on how to commit or facilitate any type of crime;
  • Gamble or bet on sports;
  • Engage in multi-level marketing or pyramid schemes; or
  • Plagiarize or engage in other forms of academic dishonesty.
4. Site Access and Safety

We do not allow content or activity on MAX Platform that:

  • directly supports unlawful active attack or malware campaigns that are causing technical harms, such as using the Max Platform to deliver malicious executables or as attack infrastructure, for example by organizing denial of Max Platform attacks or managing command and control servers, with no implicit or explicit dual-use purpose prior to the abuse occurring; or
  • uses our servers to disrupt or to attempt to disrupt, or to gain or to attempt to gain unauthorized access to, any platform, device, data, account or network.
5. Platforms Usage Limits

Users will not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell, scrape, re-use or exploit any portion of the Max Platform, use of the Max Platform, or access to the Max Platform without Modular’s express written permission.

6. Information Usage Restrictions

Users may not use information from the Max Platform (whether scraped, downloaded through our website, or obtained otherwise) for spamming purposes, including for the purposes of sending unsolicited emails to users or selling personal information, such as to recruiters, headhunters, and job boards.

7. Advertising

While we understand that Users may want to promote their respective User Generated Content by posting supporters' names or logos in its account, the primary focus of the User Generated Content posted to the Max Platform should not be advertising or promotional marketing. Users may include static images, links, and promotional text in the README documents or project description sections associated with its Account(s), but they must be related to the AI Algorithms Users and Developers are sharing on the Max Platform. Users may not advertise by posting monetized or excessive bulk content.

Users may not promote or distribute content or activity that is illegal or otherwise prohibited by the applicable Terms of Use by which they are bound or this Policy, including excessive automated bulk activity (for example, spamming), get-rich-quick schemes, and misrepresentation or deception related to its promotion.

If a User decide to post any promotional materials in its Account, User is solely responsible for complying with all applicable laws and regulations, including without limitation the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's Guidelines on Endorsements and Testimonials. Modular reserves the right to remove any promotional materials or advertisements that, in our sole discretion, violate any Modular terms.

8. Prohibited Business Use Cases 

In addition to the above use cases, we prohibit businesses from using the Max Platform for any of the following:

  • Creating targeted campaigns to influence the outcome of elections or referendums; political advocacy or lobbying;
  • Searching for or gathering information on an individual or group in order to track, target or report on their identity, including using the product for facial recognition, covert tracking, or predictive policing;
  • Utilizing any SDK to assign scores or ratings to individuals based on an assessment of their trustworthiness or social behavior;
  • Eligibility for parole or sentencing decisions;
  • Making automated decisions about the employability of individuals or other employment determinations or decisions regarding eligibility for housing, including leases and home loans;
  • Except for the following permitted applications by U.S. law enforcement organizations:
  1. Back office uses including call center support, document summarization, and accounting;
  2. Analysis of data for the location of missing persons and other applications, provided that such applications do not otherwise violate or impair the liberty, civil liberties, or human rights of natural persons.
9. Additional Requirements for Businesses

If your business is using or deploying our tools and services as part of providing legal, medical, or financial advice to consumers, we require that you implement the additional safety measures listed below:

  • Human-in-the-loop: any content that is provided to your consumers must be reviewed by a qualified professional in that field prior to dissemination. Your business is responsible for the accuracy and appropriateness of that information.‍
  • Disclosure: you must disclose to your end users or customers that you are using our services to help inform your decisions or recommendations
10. Privacy

Misuse of Personal Information is prohibited. Any person or entity collecting data from the Max Platform must comply with the Modular Privacy Policy (https://www.modular.com/legal/privacy). If a User collects any Personal Information from the Max Platform, that User agrees it will only use that Personal Information for the purpose for which the respective User to whom the Personal Information pertains has authorized its use. User agrees that it will reasonably secure any Personal Information it has gathered from the Platform, and User will respond promptly to complaints, removal requests, and "do not contact" requests from us or other Users (to the extent applicable).

11. User Safety

We do not allow conduct, Use Generated Content, activity, or use of the Max Platform that:

  • is unlawful or promotes unlawful activities;
  • is sexually obscene or relates to sexual exploitation or abuse, including of minors;
  • is libelous, defamatory, or fraudulent;
  • is discriminatory or abusive toward any individual or group;
  • is false, inaccurate, or intentionally deceptive information and likely to adversely affect the public interest (including health, safety, election integrity, and civic participation);
  • harasses or abuses another individual or group, including our employees, officers, and agents, or other Users;
  • threatens or incites violence toward any individual or group, especially on the basis of who they are;
  • gratuitously depicts or glorifies violence, including violent images; or
  • is off-topic, or interacts with Max Platform features in a way that significantly or repeatedly disrupts the experience of other Users.
12. User Protection

User must not engage in activity that significantly harms other Users. Modular will interpret policies and resolve disputes in favor of protecting Users as a whole.