Implementing Ethics in AI: Initial Results of an Industrial Multiple Case Study

TL;DR

This paper presents initial findings from an industrial case study on integrating ethics into AI development within the healthcare sector, highlighting current practices and the need for formal methods.

Contribution

It provides a baseline understanding of how ethics are currently implemented in AI system development in industry, addressing the gap in practical methods and tools.

Findings

Lack of formal methods for ethical AI design in practice

Current practices are ad hoc and inconsistent

Need for structured approaches to ethical AI development

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly widespread in system development endeavors. As AI systems affect various stakeholders due to their unique nature, the growing influence of these systems calls for ethical considerations. Academic discussion and practical examples of autonomous system failures have highlighted the need for implementing ethics in software development. However, research on methods and tools for implementing ethics into AI system design and development in practice is still lacking. This paper begins to address this focal problem by providing elements needed for producing a baseline for ethics in AI based software development. We do so by means of an industrial multiple case study on AI systems development in the healthcare sector. Using a research model based on extant, conceptual AI ethics literature, we explore the current state of practice out on the field in the absence of formal methods and tools for ethically aligned design.