Design Science Research and Designing Ethical Guidelines for the SHAPES AI Developers

Abstract

This article targets the design process of ethical guidelines for the SHAPES project (Smart and Healthy Aging through People Engaging in Supportive Systems) which is a H2020 Innovation Action project. The aim of the project is to build solutions that can make it easier for older individuals to live at home, such as, robots, wearables and sensor technologies that apply artificial intelligence (AI). The guiding method of the design process of ethical guidelines is Alan Hevner’s Design Science Research. Theoretical background consists of a form of literature overview, which contains the most relevant ethical theories and research on AI ethics, machine ethics and human rights. This article introduces the process of building the ethical guidelines for the SHAPES project and further discussion if providing guidelines is the sufficient tool to developers to take ethical action in development of the AI systems. The SHAPES guidelines include the following themes; accountability, transparency and explainability, diversity, inclusion and fairness, safety and security and societal wellbeing and humanity.