Value based engineering: Method and application

There is much talk about AI and Ethics, but only few methods exist for applying ethical principles in practise, leading to a shortage of empirical examples. Based on a new standard by IEEE, the P7000 for addressing “ethical concerns during system design”, we analyse an AI use case that aims to find and nurture untapped talent in Africa, which, as such, comes with several ethical challenges from the outset. Following a description of the System of Interest, the stakeholders and data sources, we review activities in the ethical exploration phase, namely value elicitation and prioritization, and their translation into ethical value requirements. The subsequent phase of ethically aligned design is outside the scope of this talk. After presenting the results, we reflect on the overall adequacy of the method, the practical implications, and potential limitations.