Privacy
Privacy and research information
How herAI.tech® handles your answers and data: in our own study, in the additional study with Maastricht University and on the world map.
Version: 31 October 2026
About this research
herAI.tech® is an initiative that legally falls under The AI Playground. Our research aims to better understand who decides on AI: who gets access, who takes part in AI projects and who influences decisions about AI.
You can take part in three ways. Each part has its own purpose and its own dataset. They are not linked to each other.
| Part | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| Study “Who decides on AI?” | Form on herai.tech | Questions about you and decision-making power in AI, without your name |
| Additional study with Maastricht University | Microsoft Forms | Questions about access to AI, taking part in AI projects and influence, without your name |
| World map | Form on herai.tech | Your name and place on the map, only if you choose to |
Voluntary participation and consent
Taking part is voluntary and only for people aged 18 and over. Before the questions start, you confirm that you are 18 or older, have read this information and take part voluntarily. You can stop without giving a reason at any time before you submit. There are no consequences.
Without your name, and confidential
The questionnaires do not ask for your name or email address. Still, a combination of answers or a described experience can be recognisable. That is why we treat answers confidentially and do not promise absolute anonymity.
Do not mention names, contact details, employers, project names or other details in open answers that could identify you or someone else. Do not share sensitive personal information, for example about health, religion or sexual orientation.
We only report results for groups and never show groups smaller than 5 people. We only quote open answers when there is no reasonable risk of recognition; otherwise we summarise or omit them.
What data we process
- Study “Who decides on AI?”: gender, age group, country, situation, job level and type of organisation, and your answers about AI use and decision-making power in AI decisions.
- Additional study (Microsoft Forms): gender, age group, country, situation, sector and position, and your answers about AI use, access to AI tools and training, taking part in and selection for AI projects, influence and equal opportunities, and experiences with AI outcomes that may treat women differently.
- World map: name, email address, city, postcode and country, and if you fill them in: job title, organisation, a short introduction, a quote and your LinkedIn link. Your email address and postcode never appear on the map.
Microsoft Forms and technical data
We run the additional study in Microsoft Forms. Besides your answers, each submission includes a response number, start and end time and language. We only use these for running the study and quality control. Exact times and other non-essential data are removed from analysis files.
Technical log data may be processed for the operation and security of Microsoft 365. This is separate from the answers the research team analyses.
What we use the data for
For research into access to AI, taking part in AI projects and influence on decisions about AI. Results may be used for analyses, reports, presentations, publications and other communication about the research. We never use the data to assess or profile individual participants.
We only use world map data to place you on the map and to email you about your lioness and your profile, if you consented to that.
Legal basis
Insofar as your answers contain personal data, we process them on the basis of your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can withdraw your consent at any time. This does not affect processing before that. Data that has been truly and irreversibly anonymised can no longer be linked to you and therefore cannot be deleted separately.
Who has access
| Dataset | Access |
|---|---|
| Study “Who decides on AI?” | The herAI.tech® research team |
| Additional study | The herAI.tech® research team and the Maastricht University researchers involved |
| World map | The herAI.tech® team. The map only shows what you ticked. |
How long we keep data
Research: we keep raw answers and research files for no more than 24 months after data collection closes. After that we delete them from the forms, working files and exports. Published, truly anonymous group results may remain.
World map: your profile stays as long as you want. If you withdraw consent, we remove your profile and name from the map and the list.
Your rights
Insofar as we process your personal data, you can, under the conditions of the GDPR, request access, correction, deletion, restriction or portability, and withdraw your consent. Because we keep no list of names for the questionnaires, we may not be able to find your submission. If you can provide additional information that makes this possible, we will consider your request. Do not share more personal information than needed.
Controller and contact
The AI Playground is the controller for processing the data. Questions about the research, privacy or withdrawing consent? Contact The AI Playground or use the herAI.tech® contact page.
Questions or complaints
You may lodge a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) or with the supervisory authority in the EU country where you live or work, or where the alleged infringement took place. You do not have to contact us first.
To be completed after review: where answers from the herAI.tech form are stored and which processors are involved, any transfers outside the EEA, retention periods for backups and logs, and the details of a data protection officer if applicable.