"Better Ask for Forgiveness than Permission": Practices and Policies of AI Disclosure in Freelance Work

ArXi:2603.07459v1 Announce Type: cross The growing use of AI applications among freelance workers is reshaping trust and relationships with clients. This paper investigates how both workers and clients perceive AI use and disclosure in the freelance economy through a three-stage study: interviews with workers and two survey studies with workers and clients. Findings first reveal a key expectation gap around disclosure: Workers often adopt passive disclosure practices, revealing AI use only when asked, as they assume clients can already detect it.