Research Ethics & Informed Consent

Our Ethical Commitments

I Dream of AI is designed to meet the ethical standards expected of academic research involving human participants. The project is conducted under the institutional oversight of the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

Informed Consent

By submitting a dream, you consent to the following:

• Your dream will be included in an anonymized research corpus
• Your dream may be analyzed using historical-cultural, psychological-phenomenological, and computational-linguistic methods
• Your dream may be quoted anonymously in academic publications, conference presentations, and the Atlas of AI Dreams
• The anonymized corpus may be released as open data for independent research

Consent is given at the moment of submission through the required consent checkbox on the form. Participation is entirely voluntary.

Anonymity as Protection

The strongest protection we offer is structural: we never know who you are. No identifying information is collected at any stage. This means your dream cannot be connected to you by anyone — including us.

We Do Not Interpret Individual Dreams

This project studies collective patterns, not individual psychology. We do not diagnose, assess, or make claims about the mental health or psychological state of any individual dreamer. Your dream is treated as a cultural and experiential datum, not as clinical material.

Sensitive Content

Dreams may contain distressing, violent, or emotionally intense material. The research team handles all submissions with care and confidentiality. If a dream contains content suggesting immediate risk of harm, the research team may consult institutional ethics procedures — though the anonymity of submissions means that direct intervention is not possible.

If you are experiencing distress, please reach out to a mental health professional or a crisis service in your area.

Participants Under 18

The project accepts submissions from participants of all ages. If you are under 18, we encourage you to discuss your participation with a parent or guardian. The same anonymity protections apply to all participants regardless of age.

Contact

For questions about research ethics: info@idreamof.ai