Johns Hopkins University — Homewood Institutional Review Board (HIRB)
Study Title: Analyzing usage of LLMs in different populations
Application No.: HIRB00023176
Sponsor/Supporter/Funded By: Schmidt Sciences
Principal Investigator: Anjalie Field, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21218, anjalief@jhu.edu
You are being asked to join a research study. Participation in this study is voluntary. Even if you decide to join now, you can change your mind later.
The information in this section is intended to be an introduction to the study only. Complete details of the study are listed in the sections below. You can ask questions about the study now and at any time in the future.
The goal of this study is to understand how people use AI. In this study, you will be asked to share your AI chat history. You can select which conversations you'd like to share. Directly identifying information (like names and phone numbers) will be removed from your data with automated software. Your data will then be made available to other research teams for research purposes.
The primary risk of this study is that it may be possible for people to learn information about you from the data you share.
This research is being done to understand how people use AI, and how usage may differ for different populations. This knowledge will help people understand how to use AI more effectively and help AI companies build tools that are more effective for broader populations.
To join this study you must:
If you agree to be in this study, we will ask you to share your past conversations with AI. Specifically, you will download a browser extension that allows you to select which conversations to share and then sends the selected conversations to the research team. The extension will also collect and share the age of your account, the total number of conversations you have had with the AI system, and whether your account is a free or pro subscription. The data you share will be de-identified and made available to research teams who request access. We will also use and share your de-identified answers from the demographic screening questionnaire you already completed as research data. If you choose not to participate in this study, your answers to the screening questionnaire will be deleted. We will analyze this research data to understand how usage patterns vary among different groups of people.
While we will de-identify data you share (automatically remove direct identifiers like names and addresses), we cannot guarantee that the de-identification will be 100% accurate. We also cannot guarantee that it is impossible for anyone to re-identify your data. Thus, it may be possible for someone to learn that you participated in this study and to learn information about you from the data you share. For example, if you share conversations that contain private or sensitive information, like your name, address, or personal preferences, it may be possible for other people to learn these things about you.
If you decide to withdraw from the study after consenting to open data sharing, we will not have any way to know who has already used your data before you withdrew and will not be able to prevent continued use of your data.
There is no direct benefit to you from being in this study. In the long term, we aim to develop improved AI systems that are useful for society.
Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary. You choose whether to participate. If you decide not to participate, there are no penalties, and you will not lose any benefits to which you would otherwise be entitled.
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[For payment requestion] If you share a minimum of 20 conversations, you will receive an gift card for your participation. The amount will be between $5 and $20 USD, where the exact amount will be determined by the volume and diversity of data you share. You will be able to see the expected payment amount before finalizing your data sharing
[For no payment] You will not be compensated for your participation.
We are happy to share the results of this study with you. If you would like to be notified about results from this work, including published papers or data archives, please share your email address [email entry]
We are happy to acknowledge you by name in any outputs from the study, including paper publications. Please keep in mind that including your name in the study will allow others to know you participated and may make it easier for someone to determine what data you shared. If you would like to be acknowledged by name, please enter your name [name entry]
Data that you share through this study will be de-identified with automated software and shared for research purposes. The data could be used for future research studies or distributed to another investigator for future studies without additional informed consent being obtained.
Any other study records that identify you will be kept confidential to the extent possible by law. The study team may be obligated to disclose information about you if data you share contains content that is legally required to be reported, such as illegal activity or threats of harm to yourself or others. The records from your participation may be reviewed by people responsible for making sure that research is done properly, including members of the Johns Hopkins University Homewood Institutional Review Board and officials from government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the Office for Human Research Protections. (All of these people are required to keep your identity confidential.) Otherwise, records that identify you will be available only to people working on the study, unless you give permission for other people to see the records.
This study has been reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB), a group of people that reviews human research studies. The IRB can help you if you have questions about your rights as a research participant or if you have other questions, concerns or complaints about this research study. You may contact the IRB at 410-516-6580 or hirb@jhu.edu.
Contact the principal investigator, Anjalie Field at anjalief@jhu.edu. If you wish, you may contact the principal investigator by letter. The address is on page one of this consent form. If you cannot reach the principal investigator or wish to talk to someone else, call the IRB office at 410-516-5680.
If you have questions about your rights as a research participant or feel that you have not been treated fairly, please call the Homewood Institutional Review Board at Johns Hopkins University at (410) 516-6580.