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EXHIBIT B-1
PARTICIPANT INFORMED CONSENT AND RELEASE

TITLE: Fair Human-centric Image Benchmark

PROTOCOL NO.: None


WCG IRB Protocol #20231600

SPONSOR: Sony AI

INVESTIGATOR: AI Ethics Research Team, Sony AI


25 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10010
United States

STUDY-RELATED
CONTACT: sonyai.data.collection@sony.co.jp

Taking part in this research project is voluntary. You may decide not to participate, or you may
leave the study at any time. Your decision will not result in any penalty or loss of benefits to which
you are otherwise entitled.

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints or think this research has hurt you, talk to the
research team at the email listed in this document.

On behalf of our client, Sony Group Corporation and Sony Research Inc. both of 7-1 Konan 1-
chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0075, Japan (all together “Company”) acting as controllers, we,
[_________________], acting as processor on behalf of Company are very pleased that you wish
to participate in this image dataset creation project (the "Project"). The contact details of Sony
Group Corporation and its affiliates including Sony Research Inc. can be found here.

KEY POINTS for your participation in the Project and Company's processing of Your
Data (as defined below):
● Purpose: The purpose of this Project is to minimize biases in machine learning (ML)
and artificial intelligence (AI) systems on the basis of a person’s demographic
background or physical characteristics. Company’s objective is to ensure ML and AI
systems perform fairly and ethically across a diverse set of ages, gender identities,
nationalities, ancestries, etc. To do this, we will collect images and demographic data
which include a diverse range of people AND (self-reported and/or non-self-reported
(estimated)) annotations of those images. Company also aims to contribute to the
broader ML and AI research and development community (“Community”) to
collaboratively develop, train, and evaluate ML and AI software, algorithms and other
technologies.
● Procedure: As a participant in the Project, we will ask you to provide images of
yourself, your demographic data, and self-reported annotations to create an image
dataset to support these objectives. We expect that your taking part in this Project
will last for the time to complete the image and data submission.

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● Benefits: This Project may benefit society by helping to reduce bias and promote
fairness in the use of ML and AI systems. Company cannot guarantee or promise that
you will receive direct benefits from this Project.
● Risks: Your Data will be made available to the Community, subject to reasonable
restrictions on the use of Your Data. Nonetheless, Your Data may be misused or used
for unauthorized purposes in violation of such restrictions. Further, while Your Data,
when contributed to the Community, will NOT include your name or email address
and members of the Community accessing Your Data will be contractually prohibited
from attempting to associate your image with your name, email address or other
personal identifiers, anonymity cannot be guaranteed. Re-identification may occur
due to unintended data breaches, including hacking, or other activities outside of the
Project.
● Confidentiality: Prior to sharing the image dataset with the Community, Company will
maintain controls to associate a unique identifier with Your Data, and to remove your
name and other personal identifiers from Your Data, but Company cannot guarantee
anonymity.
● Publication: Your Data may be published and distributed worldwide, in English or in
other languages, in print form and on the internet and in any other formats, for
example in magazines and journals (such as academic and scientific journals),
research papers, presentations, blog posts and websites, and also used in other
publications or by other publishers who may receive a license to such publications.
● Authorization to Use and Disclose Your Data:
o You voluntarily consent to sharing Your Data, including your facial, body,
biometric, and other images and information about you and your surroundings.
o You consent to Company's use and disclosure of Your Data to develop, train, and
evaluate machine learning and artificial intelligence software, algorithms, and
other technologies and in related publications.
o Your Data will be transferred to the US and other jurisdictions that may not provide
an equivalent level of protection as your home country. Your provision of Your
Data and your execution of this Participant Informed Consent and Release
constitutes your explicit consent to the cross-border transfer of Your Data.
o While the Community may be the target audience, members of the general public
may be able to access the image dataset, which includes some of Your Data and
any related publications.
● Voluntary Participation and Withdrawal: You are free to decide whether to provide
Your Data to Company and you have the right to withdraw consent to Company's use
of Your Data at any time, without prejudice, for any reason, but your withdrawal will
have no effect on publications, software, algorithms, and technologies derived from
the use and disclosure of Your Data before Company deletes Your Data based on
your request. This may include cases where an image dataset has already been
accepted for publication by a journal or other medium.
● No Use Obligation: Submission of Your Data does not guarantee that it will be
selected by us or used by Company. If Your Data is not selected for participation, it
will not be delivered to Company. Any data not delivered to Company will be deleted.
Your Data will not be used for any other purpose, other than as stated herein.

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● Contact: For any questions about the Project or to exercise your rights under this
Participant Informed Consent and Release, please contact Company at
sonyai.data.collection@sony.co.jp.

Collection of Your Data. To participate in the Project, you will provide and/or we will collect your
facial, body, biometric, and other images (10 different images of yourself in different poses and
attire with a minimum of 1 day between each image). You may also be asked to provide the
following information for inclusion in the image dataset and association with your images: name,
email address, country where you are based, demographic information (age, gender identity,
nationality, ancestry, and racial/ethnic origin); physical characteristic information (skin color, eye
color, height, weight, hairstyle); disability information (hearing, vision, cognitive, and other
disabilities); pregnancy status; actions depicted in the images; technical data, including metadata
(geolocation data) associated with your images; and environmental data. Once collected, your
images, and all other information that you provided and we collected on behalf of Company for
purposes of this Project (collectively, "Your Data") will be included in the image dataset for the
Project. We expect that your taking part in this Project will last for the time to complete the image
and data submission.

Purpose(s) of Use. The Project is intended to use Your Data to create an image dataset to
support research and studies about, and development, training, analysis and evaluation of,
commercial and non-commercial (for example academia, philanthropy, public policy etc. relevant)
software, algorithms, and other technologies, especially machine learning and artificial
intelligence technologies (“Technologies”), such as machine learning and artificial intelligence-
enabled body and face detection, recognition, verification, image parsing, image editing and
synthesis tools, and other applications (the "Purpose(s)"). As the controller, Company will use
Your Data to train, evaluate, and otherwise develop commercial and non-commercial software,
algorithms, or other technologies. We will only use Your Data as a processor/service provider to
Company in accordance with Company’s instructions. Subject to the terms and conditions set
forth herein, you grant to Company the right and license to use Your Data including your image
and likeness in connection with the Purpose(s).

Benefits. This Project may benefit society by helping to reduce bias and promote fairness in the
use of ML and AI systems. Company cannot guarantee or promise that you will receive direct
benefits from this Project.

Disclosure. Company will share Your Data with its affiliates and third-party consortia (these
include companies in the technology (both hardware and software manufacturers), financial and
cloud services sectors), all acting as controllers which will use Your Data for purposes similar to
the Purpose(s). Company will also make Your Data available open-source for third parties acting
as controllers to use Your Data to support research about, and development, evaluation and
improvement of, commercial and non-commercial, machine learning and artificial intelligence
software, algorithms, and other technologies. This means there is no restriction on access to the
image dataset whilst there may be some restrictions on the use of the image dataset. Finally,
Company will share Your Data with other third-party vendors (“Vendors”) acting as
processors/service providers on behalf of Company and providing to Company similar services to
those provided by us to Company. Vendors will use Your Data to assist Company in developing
the image dataset for the Purpose(s). Prior to any such sharing, Company will maintain controls
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to associate a unique identifier with Your Data, and to remove your name and other personal
identifiers from Your Data. With the exception of Vendors acting as processors/service providers
on behalf of Company and in relation to whom Company remains liable for how they process or
use Your Data, you acknowledge and agree that Company is not liable for how its affiliates, those
consortia or third parties process or use Your Data. You may withdraw your consent for having
Your Data shared with Company’s affiliates, consortia, Vendors or third parties open source at
any time, without prejudice, and for any reason by contacting Company at
sonyai.data.collection@sony.co.jp.

Publication. The image dataset (including annotations and aggregate statistics) may be
published by Company, its affiliates and third-party consortia or users of the open-source image
dataset in connection with the Purpose(s). This may be in relation to the creation of and use of
the image dataset as well as promotional materials, including publication (and re-publication) in
full or part of any derivative work of the image dataset in any format, for example in magazines
and journals (such as academic and scientific journals), research papers, presentations, blog
posts and websites. Depending on the publication, the image dataset (in whole or in part, including
your image) may be viewed by specific target audiences such as researchers as well as general
members of the public. While your name and email will not be published within such publications,
please note your anonymity may not be guaranteed. In addition, whilst consent may be revoked
while the image dataset is being considered for publication, once the image dataset has been
accepted for publication it may not necessarily be possible to revoke consent. You will not receive
and give up any claim to receive any payment or royalties in connection with the use and
publication of the image dataset or your image.

Data Subject Rights. You may request deletion of Your Data at any time, without prejudice, and
for any reason, or request access to a copy of Your Data or other rights to the extent required by
applicable law, by contacting Company at sonyai.data.collection@sony.co.jp. Upon confirmation
of a request to delete, Company will securely delete Your Data within thirty (30) days in
accordance with Company's data handling and retention protocols. You acknowledge and agree
that while your requests to delete Your Data will result in Company's deletion of Your Data in its
possession, such requests will have no effect on any publications, software, algorithm, or other
technology derived from the use of Your Data before your request. Depending on applicable law,
you may also have additional rights with respect to Your Data, including the right to obtain
confirmation that Company maintains certain of Your Data and the corresponding processing
activities, to verify its content, origin, and accuracy, as well as the right to access, amend, review,
port, delete or anonymize, or to block, restrict and object to the processing of Your Data and to
withdraw your consent at any time (without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on
consent before its withdrawal). You also have the right to file a complaint with a supervisory
authority, including the data protection authority of your jurisdiction, in relation to the processing
of Your Data. Finally, you may have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on
automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal or other similar material effects
("Automated Decision-Making"). Please note that Automated Decision-Making currently does
not take place on the Company’s Technologies with regard to Your Data for the Purpose(s).

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Security and Retention. Company will maintain appropriate and reasonable technical and
organizational security measures to protect Your Data from loss, misuse, unauthorized access,
disclosure, alteration, and destruction, and will restrict access at Company to those who need to
know the information. Company will securely delete Your Data when the Purpose(s) have been
satisfied in accordance with Company's data handling and retention protocols, which typically is
established for twenty years from the date of collection to protect Company from legal claims, or
to the extent permitted by applicable law, which may require Company to hold Your Data for
specific periods. Company will also securely retain Your Data for up to twenty years from the date
of collection as Company will need it to develop, train and evaluate current and future
Technologies as described in the section “Purpose(s) of Use” above. For more information on this,
please contact: sonyai.data.collection@sony.co.jp.

Legal Basis of Processing. Company’s legal basis for collection, use, disclosure, and other
processing of Your Data is your consent.

Cross-Border Data Transfer. Your Data will be processed, stored and transferred for the
Purpose(s) from your country to countries which may not provide the same level of personal data
protection as your country. These countries include the US and globally other countries not
deemed adequate by the European Commission. Company takes appropriate measures to
ensure that transfers of Your Data meet the requirements of applicable data protection legislation
such as the EU standard contractual clauses. Where applicable data protection law requires your
consent to transfer Your Data overseas, you provide your consent through your provision of Your
Data and your execution of this Participant Informed Consent and Release.

Alternatives.
This Project is not designed to diagnose, treat or prevent any disease. Your alternative is to not
take part in the Project.

Additional Considerations.
● Your participation in and the information you receive as part of your participation in the
Project is strictly confidential and proprietary to Company, and you agree that you will not
disclose or disseminate to any third party, or use for your own benefit, anything that you
may observe or learn during your participation in the Project, including without limitation
any methods demonstrated and any ideas presented.
● You acknowledge and agree that you are participating in this Project as an individual, this
Participant Informed Consent and Release does not constitute a contract of employment,
and you shall not be, at any time or for any purpose, deemed an employee or agent of
Company.
● You acknowledge and agree that electronically signing or otherwise agreeing to (by ticking
boxes or typing your name) this Participant Informed Consent and Release will have the
same effect and validity as signing via any other means.
● You represent and warrant to Company as follows: (i) you acknowledge that Company
does not have funds set aside to compensate you and to the extent permitted by applicable
law, you release Company and hold it harmless from any and all loss, damage, or liability
(collectively, “Loss”) of any kind that may arise from your participation in the Project,
excluding any Loss regarding Your Data and except for your right to pursue a claim through
the legal system if you are injured as a result of this Project due to Company’s gross
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negligence or willful misconduct; (ii) you are not a resident of the US State of California,
Illinois, Washington, or Texas; and (iii) you are the age of majority under the laws of your
jurisdiction with the legal capacity to agree to these terms and you are not significantly
impaired with respect to your ability to protect yourself from neglect, abuse, or violence on
account of disability, illness, or otherwise. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this
Agreement shall operate to limit or exclude Company’s liability arising from its gross
negligence, for fraud or for any other liability that, by law, cannot be limited or excluded.
This means that if you are injured as a result of this Project due to the Company’s actions,
you do not give up your right to pursue a claim through the legal system.
● The AI Ethics Research Team are employees of the Sponsor. If you have questions about
this you can ask at the contact information listed on the first page.

If you have questions, concerns, or complaints, or think this Project has hurt you or made you
sick, talk to the research team at the contact information listed above on the first page.

This Project is being overseen by WCG IRB. An IRB is a group of people who perform
independent review of research studies. You may talk to them at 855-818-2289 or
researchquestions@wcgirb.com if:
o You have questions, concerns, or complaints that are not being answered by the
research team.
o You are not getting answers from the research team.
o You cannot reach the research team.
o You want to talk to someone else about the Project.
o You have questions about your rights as a research subject.

All primary image subjects, data annotators, and individuals involved in quality assurance will be
compensated for their time at rates at or above the minimum wage in their country/region of
residence.

By your signature or acceptance (by ticking boxes or typing your name) below, you agree
that for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which you hereby
acknowledge, you expressly, explicitly, and voluntarily consent to participate in the Project
as described above.

By ticking the boxes below, you consent to providing Your Data, including sensitive data
about ancestry, racial/ethnic origin, health (disabilities and pregnancy), biometrics,
location, gender identity, and the transfer of Your Data in connection with the Project and
for the use, disclosure, and other processing according to the Purpose(s) as described in
this Participant Informed Consent and Release:

If you agree to and accept these terms, please sign below.

I have read and approved this Participant Informed Consent and Release.

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