About

Our Principles

AI:OK is an initiative dedicated to promoting the responsible use of AI in the music industry. Its mission is to help the supply chain and end users identify AI music tools and catalogues built with documented respect for creators’ rights, so that AI technology enhances human creativity while safeguarding the rights and interests of everyone with a stake in music.

A person wearing a black beanie and a white sweatshirt sitting at a piano, writing notes on a sheet of music with a pencil, with a computer on the desk behind them in a dimly lit room.

About

Founded by Dr. Martin Clancy, AI:OK is funded and supported by Enterprise Ireland and was developed with research partners at Dublin City University and Trinity College Dublin. It is a research-backed response to the challenges AI presents to music.

Dr. Clancy is author of “Artificial Intelligence and the Music Ecosystem” (Routledge), Senior AI Research Fellow at Insight/DCU, Policy Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, and founder Chair of the IEEE Global AI Ethics Arts Committee. His work on the ethical and economic impact of AI on the music ecosystem led him to found AI:OK, as a proactive response to generative AI in music.

The AI:OK team brings together business and music professionals from across the industry with AI academics and research institutions.

Responsibility

The pace of change in AI is unprecedented, and there is a real threat to the inclusion of humans in creativity.

AI:OK promotes ethical and sustainable practice in music through a responsible, innovative ecosystem. That commitment is what “AI:OK” represents.

The trustmark signals to the industry and to fans that the tool behind a piece of music has a documented basis for respecting its creators’ rights. The criteria for using it are published in the AI:OK Standard, and AI:OK welcomes input from creators, labels, retailers and music technology companies.

The AI:OK trustmark is designed to be easy to recognise: a simple signal that a tool or catalogue has been reviewed against a published standard.

Who we are

Based in Dublin and funded by the Irish government through Enterprise Ireland, AI:OK was formed in collaboration with the DCU/Insight SFI Research Centre and Trinity College Dublin, and is aligned with a network of international AI research institutes.

AI:OK is independent of any single stakeholder group. It brings industry expertise and academic research to a question that affects everyone in music, and it is committed to high standards of ethical practice. Its relationships, and how it keeps decisions impartial, are set out in the Methodology.

The Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics is one of Europe’s largest data analytics research organisations, with over 450 researchers, 220+ industry partners and €150+ million in funding, across DCU, University of Galway, UCC and UCD, with partner sites at Maynooth University, TCD, Tyndall and UL.

A woman with brown hair working on music production. She is sitting at a large mixing console with a computer monitor displaying audio editing software. Studio speakers and audio equipment are visible in the background.

Trustmark

AI:OK is the trustmark for music AI. It certifies AI tools, catalogues and platforms, and the practices behind them. The trustmark signals that a system or catalogue has a credible legal and operational basis for commercial deployment, assessed by a human assessor against a published standard. It does not certify individual tracks.

The certification platform is built on an expert system developed at Dublin City University. AI:OK is led by Dr. Martin Clancy, David Hughes and with advisory support from Yvan Boudillet (Music Tech Europe).

The Team

  • Programme Author & AI:OK Co-founder Subtitle: Author, Artificial Intelligence and the Music Ecosystem (Routledge, 2nd ed. 2026). Senior AI Research Fellow, Insight/DCU. Policy Fellow, Trinity College Dublin. Founding Chair, IEEE Global AI Ethics Arts

    Dr. Martin Clancy

    CEO & Founder

    Author, Senior AI Research Fellow, Insight/DCU. Policy Fellow, Trinity College Dublin. Founding Chair, IEEE Global AI Ethics Arts Committee.

  • A smiling middle-aged man with a shaved head and light-colored eyes, wearing a black collared shirt, against a dark background.

    David Hughes

    Chief Strategist & Co-founder

    Digital business strategist focusing on online music distribution for over 25 years. Former VP of Technology Strategies and Digital Policy at Sony Music. Former CTO at Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)

  • A man with glasses, dark hair, and a beard wearing a black shirt against a dark green background.

    Antony Matsepa

    CTO & Co-founder

    Researcher in social ecology and techno-anthropology. Founder of Europe’s first AI-native museum and living lab. Leads the Music Archaeology Project - applying psychoacoustic AI and bio-archaeological modelling to the reconstruction of lost soundscapes from human history.

Contributors

  • Black and white portrait of a woman with curly hair wearing glasses and a blazer.

    Laurie Jakobson

    US Data Market Specialist

    President at Jaybird Communications. Mentor and adjunct professor at NYU Steinhardt’s Music Business program, fostering future entrepreneurs. Early-stage investor in women- and femme-founded startups through Pipeline Angels technology communications at Sony. Over 25 years of experience in PR and marketing communications inc.

  • Close-up black and white photograph of a man with glasses and a beard, looking at the camera.

    Prof Tomás Ward

    Principal Investigator

    AIB Chair of Data Analytics at DCU. Director at Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics. Holds BE, MEngSc, and Ph.D. degrees in engineering from University College Dublin. Senior Member of IEEE, with over 240 peer-reviewed publications.

  • Myrthe Mijsters

    Back-end Developer

    MSc in Applied Musicology. MSc in Intellectual Property Law and Innovation. Previously worked at BumaStemra.

  • Greg Murphy

    Business Development and Growth

    Startup entrepreneur. Experienced in expanding into new territories, user experience and go-to-market strategy.

  • A smiling young man with dark hair, wearing a hoodie, outdoors with blurred natural background.

    Kevin Anthony Martinez

    Analyst and Software Engineer

    Experienced Software Engineer. Analyst Programmer at Insight SFI Research Centre Ireland for Data Analytics. Holds a BSc in Computer Science and an MSc in Data Analytics.

  • Black and white photo of a smiling woman with shoulder-length hair, wearing earrings and a necklace, standing outdoors with foliage in the background.

    Jessica Fajfar

    Legal Advisor

  • A grayscale photo of a middle-aged man with gray hair and glasses, smiling and wearing a suit.

    Terry Marsh

    Legal Advisor

  • A black-and-white close-up portrait of a man with a shaved head and beard, wearing a dark shirt.

    Marcus Byrne

    Creative Direction

  • Black and white photo of a man with glasses, high forehead, and a slight smile.

    Dr Jonathan Dunne

    Insight Senior Research Fellow

  • A man with glasses and a beard smiling in black and white.

    Bill Greenwood

    AI:OK Comms

  • Black and white portrait of a woman with shoulder-length hair, wearing a dark top and a patterned shirt underneath.

    Aoife King

    AI:OK TCD