Ethical AI

At Video by Design, we believe artificial intelligence should enhance creativity — not replace it. That’s why we’ve created Ethical AI, a service that delivers AI-powered content while respecting artists, transparency, and creative integrity.

This service is built on three clear principles:

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1. No AI-Generated Art — Ever

We do not use AI-generated photography, illustrations or video footage.
All visuals used in our work are either:

Captured by real photographers and videographers

Created by real illustrators and designers

Supplied or approved by the client

We believe artists deserve to be paid for their craft — and AI shouldn’t replace that.

2. AI Avatars That Are Clearly AI
 

If we use AI avatars, they will always be intentionally designed to look non-human.
No deepfakes. No realistic digital doubles. No content that could mislead viewers.

Our avatars are stylised, clearly artificial and labelled as AI-generated to protect trust and transparency.
 

3. Real Human Voices — Cloned Ethically

We don’t use generic AI voices sourced from strangers or voice actors who never agreed to it.

Instead:

We use voice clones of our clients (with permission), or

Voices from our in-house team who have agreed to have their voice on your project.

This ensures we aren’t taking work away from professional voice artists and that the voice used belongs to a real human who has control over how it’s used.
 

Why We Built Ethical AI
 

AI is powerful — but it doesn’t have to come at the cost of human creativity or honesty.
Ethical AI exists so businesses can access AI-driven tools without contributing to unethical practices like unlicensed training data, stolen artwork or invisible automation.

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Why Ethical AI matters to us at Video by Design

Australia has a strong culture of fairness, transparency and looking after people — and we believe technology should reflect those values. As AI becomes more common in media, education and marketing, there’s a growing responsibility to use it in a way that doesn’t harm artists, mislead audiences or replace human jobs without consent.

For us at Video by Design, Ethical AI matters because:

We support Australian creatives and industries.
Australia has a thriving community of filmmakers, illustrators, photographers, designers, educators and voice artists. If we rely on AI-generated art or anonymous AI voice libraries, we directly undermine the people who make a living from their craft.

Trust is everything — especially in a local market.
Australian clients and audiences value honesty. Passing AI content off as human-made, or using voices and images trained on people who never gave permission, damages trust. We’d rather be upfront about how AI is used.

It aligns with emerging Australian standards and regulations.
The Australian government is moving toward clearer AI transparency and copyright protections. By using Ethical AI, we’re operating ahead of regulation — not waiting to be forced into it.

We care about people before technology.
AI should assist humans, not erase them. We choose to prioritise consent, fair pay and creative ownership over speed or shortcuts.

Ethical AI isn’t a marketing term for us. It’s about keeping Australian creativity alive, using technology responsibly, and building work that we can stand behind.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Ethical AI?

Ethical AI is our commitment to using artificial intelligence in a way that supports human creativity — not replaces it. At Video by Design, we use AI to improve workflows, scripting and training content, but we don’t use AI-generated art, fake humans or unlicensed voices.
 

Do you use AI-generated images, videos or illustrations?

No. We don’t use AI-generated photography, video footage or illustrations.
Anything visual is created by real photographers, videographers, illustrators or supplied by the client. We believe artists deserve to get paid for their work — not replaced by a machine.

What is an AI avatar?
 

An AI avatar is a digital presenter or character used to deliver scripts on screen.
The key difference with our approach is that our avatars are not designed to look like real people. We avoid deepfakes or hyper-realistic faces — they are stylised, clearly artificial and transparent to the viewer.

Are your AI avatars based on real people?
 

Sometimes, yes — but not in a way that could be confused with reality.
In most cases, we base the avatar loosely on a real person from the company — for example, a founder, team member or someone important to the brand or to the project.

This is incorporated into your product as a respectful token or commemorative 'easter egg, not as a digital clone.

Facial features are simplified, stylised or abstracted so that it’s clearly not a real human — more of a tribute than a digital copy.
 

Do you use AI to clone voices?
 

Yes — but only ethically. We clone voices using one of two sources:

The client’s own voice (with written permission), or

One of our in-house team who has agreed to be part of the AI library

We don’t use random AI voices from global databases, because many of those are built from voice actors who were never paid or never consented.
 

Can we still choose a human presenter instead of AI?

Absolutely. Ethical AI is an option — not a replacement.
Some clients want a real person on screen. Some prefer an avatar for consistency and scalability. We support both and will never pressure anyone to use AI if it doesn’t feel right.
 

Why is this important for an Australian company?

Because Australian values are built around fairness, honesty and giving people a fair go while supporting Australian jobs. Using AI to replace artists, use stolen content or mislead audiences goes against that. Ethical AI lets us use technology without losing our integrity, or our creative industry.

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