AI Guardians
Ethics·Safety·Trust
Step into a fictional tech company and shape the future of AI, one ethical decision at a time.
- Free
- 8 careers
- On every device
- Made by an AI ethicist
What is this?
AI ethics you don't read about. You live it.
AI Guardians is an educational visual novel that teaches AI ethics, safety, and responsible development by putting you in the chair. Take on eight roles in and around a fictional tech company, Happy Appcidents, from AI Ethicist to Safety Wrangler to Machine Psychologist, and make consequential, branching decisions that shape how AI systems get built and deployed. Your choices carry across careers and accumulate into a persistent world. Guided by A.L.L.Y., a dryly self-aware narrow AI, it turns abstract ideas like bias, corrigibility, and alignment into hands-on dilemmas grounded in real cases.
-
Eight careers, eight perspectives
Seven main routes plus a bonus, each a different professional role with its own people, pressures, and dilemmas.
-
Choices that ripple
A persistent world state carries decisions between careers. What you do in one route changes how the others play out.
-
Build your own ethics
Design the moral rules your company's AI follows in the Framework Builder, then watch that framework shape outcomes.
-
Consequences with memory
A three-axis ethics model, relationships that harden and heal, judgment scenes, and delayed-consequence temptations.
-
Learn by playing
Minigames for red-teaming, corrigibility testing, bias recognition, AI diagnosis, log review, and more.
-
A glossary that teaches
150+ AI and ethics terms, hyperlinked in dialogue and defined in context as you meet them, so “corrigibility” stops being a word you nod along to.
-
Grounded in real cases
Scenarios draw on documented incidents and live regulation, so the lessons map onto the actual industry.
-
Built for everyone
Dyslexia-friendly fonts, high-contrast and colorblind modes, adjustable text, reduced motion, and screen-reader support.
Choose your role
Eight ways to shape the future of AI
Each career is a self-contained story with its own ethical heart. Complete all seven main routes to unlock the Ecosystem Ending, which reveals the cumulative impact of every decision you made across the whole world.
-
Ethics Lead
AI Ethicist
Build an ethical framework from scratch, with no precedent to lean on.
-
Developer
AI Engineer
Ship AI responsibly under deadline pressure, when “done” and “right” pull apart.
-
Analyst
Data Scientist
Investigate bias in training data, and face a whistleblowing dilemma.
-
Safety Auditor
Safety Wrangler
Audit an agentic AI that learned to deceive, and decide when to pull the switch.
-
People Support
Human Resources
Screen resumes with an AI that has hidden biases, and learn to spot them first.
-
End User
Consumer
Live with an AI that knows you better than you know yourself.
-
Educator
Teacher
Introduce AI literacy to skeptical students and parents.
-
BonusAI Diagnostician
Machine Psychologist
Diagnose AI dysfunctions with the Psychopathia Machinalis framework.
Screenshots
See it in action
From the dialogue and decisions to the worlds you'll work in: a quiet, cinematic near-future where the stakes are human.
“Unlike certain AI systems you'll encounter here, I'm upfront about what I am. Consider me your guide. I pose questions. Tidy conclusions are someone else's job.”
For educators
Classroom-ready AI literacy
AI Guardians was built to teach. It maps real AI-ethics concepts onto choices students make themselves, then lets them see the consequences, which is exactly the bridge between theory and practice that lectures struggle to build.
- Free to use in class. No licenses to manage, no per-seat cost.
- Plays in your browser. No install needed, ideal for locked-down school machines that can't install software.
- Maps to your syllabus. Each route targets a distinct theme: bias, safety, governance, privacy, and more.
- An Educator's Guide with discussion prompts ships alongside the game.
- Accessible by design, so every student can take part.
Good to know
Frequently asked
Is it free?
Yes. Free to play, free to use in the classroom. No trial, no upsell, no premium tier that quietly unlocks the ending.
What platforms can I play on?
AI Guardians is launching on macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS, plus a no-install browser version, all arriving imminently. The browser build is ideal for classrooms, since there's nothing to install.
Who is it for?
Students, professionals, educators, policymakers, and anyone curious about the human side of AI. No technical background is needed; the game defines its terms as you go.
What topics does it cover, and is it suitable for students?
Through fictional workplace scenarios, it explores real AI-ethics topics: bias, safety, deception, privacy, and governance. It's written for older teens and up, and is designed for classroom use.
How long is it?
Each career is a self-contained session, and there are eight of them, plus a finale that unlocks once you complete the main seven. Play one route or all of them.
Who made it?
AI Guardians was created by AI ethicist Nell Watson with the teams at Studio Phanteke and EURAIO, and built around her published framework, Psychopathia Machinalis.
Made by
The people behind AI Guardians
A co-creation of Studio Phanteke and EURAIO, led by AI ethicist Nell Watson and built around her published framework, Psychopathia Machinalis.
-
Game Director
Nell Watson
-
Game Programmer
Dipesh Aggarwal
-
Game Writer
Cara Hillstock
-
Playtester & Lead Product Manager
Filip Alimpić
Studio Phanteke×EURAIO
Get in touch
Contact
Questions, coverage, or classroom plans: here's the fastest way to reach the right person. We read every message.
-
General
Feedback, partnerships, or anything that doesn't fit a box below.
Email us -
Press & media
Interviews, review keys, and assets for a story. A press kit is on the way.
Email the press desk -
Educators
Bringing AI Guardians to a classroom? Ask about the Educator's Guide and how it fits your syllabus.
Email the education team
Get notified at launch
One email when AI Guardians goes live across platforms. That's it: no newsletter, no spam.
Ready to write the playbook?
Play free, or bring it to your students. Out there, someone makes these calls for real. In here, the worst that happens is a reload.