Time for AI (Ethics) Maturity Model Is Now

TL;DR

This paper advocates for developing an AI ethics maturity model to help organizations systematically improve the ethical quality and overall development of AI systems, bridging high-level principles with practical implementation.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of an AI ethics maturity model, applying software engineering maturity frameworks to guide ethical AI development and implementation.

Findings

High-level ethical principles are difficult to operationalize.

A maturity model can provide a structured roadmap for ethical AI development.

The paper calls for creating a maturity model focused on AI ethics and quality.

Abstract

There appears to be a common agreement that ethical concerns are of high importance when it comes to systems equipped with some sort of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Demands for ethical AI are declared from all directions. As a response, in recent years, public bodies, governments, and universities have rushed in to provide a set of principles to be considered when AI based systems are designed and used. We have learned, however, that high-level principles do not turn easily into actionable advice for practitioners. Hence, also companies are publishing their own ethical guidelines to guide their AI development. This paper argues that AI software is still software and needs to be approached from the software development perspective. The software engineering paradigm has introduced maturity model thinking, which provides a roadmap for companies to improve their performance from the selected viewpoints known as the key capabilities. We want to voice out a call for action for the development of a maturity model for AI software. We wish to discuss whether the focus should be on AI ethics or, more broadly, the quality of an AI system, called a maturity model for the development of AI systems.