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Ethical technology standards: Today’s organizational practices

Our third annual survey on the state of technology ethics

As AI adoption accelerates, business leaders are working to establish organizational ethical standards to keep pace. While emerging technologies like Generative AI (GenAI) can bring positive value to businesses and society, they can also introduce risks to organizations and their reputations. Our latest findings on the state of emerging technology ethics underscore the importance of enacting ethical tech principles to meet those challenges.

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GenAI is generating impact

You have seen it in the headlines, and maybe even your own organization: GenAI is becoming widespread. In this year’s survey, 94% of respondents indicated GenAI is in development, testing, or use at their organization; and 87% indicated their organizations are increasing the use of GenAI. But as organizations deploy GenAI, they face concerns about its risks.

“Many of us are energized by the chance to be on the ground floor of shaping this tech-driven future. However, these technologies also pose complex risks with pervasive impacts to organizations and society at large. This dualism underscores the need for a balanced approach—embracing innovation while upholding an unwavering commitment to ethical standards.”

—Lara Abrash, Chair, Deloitte US

Ethics are the key to effective AI

Respondents believe cognitive technologies like AI have both the most significant benefits and risks when compared to other emerging technologies.

54% indicated cognitive technologies posed the most severe ethical risks of emerging technologies, with top concerns for GenAI being data privacy, transparency, and data provenance.

Fortunately, leaders understand how adopting and operationalizing ethics can mitigate those challenges. More than discussing the risks around GenAI adoption, respondents say their organizations are working to address risks proactively through internal tools, trainings, and hiring new talent to help them use this emerging tech responsibly.

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Important takeaways

Leaders’ concerns around emerging tech are well-established. Fortunately, so are their plans to build trust, create new standards, and address ethical concerns.
Safety first

The principle that technology should be “safe and secure” is most consistently acknowledged as the highest priority when developing ethical standards. Because of that, prioritizing safety can help bring people on board to implement ethical standards at scale.

Reputation is important

Respondents showed the most concern about the reputational damage associated with misuse of technology and failure to adhere to ethical standards. They indicated an organization’s perceived ability to honor ethical commitments is important to long-term success.

AI is a double-edged sword

Cognitive technologies such as AI are recognized as having both the highest potential to benefit society and the highest risk of misuse. If left unchecked, the accelerated adoption of GenAI could outpace organizations’ capacity to govern the technology.

Leaders inspire ethical engagement

Chief Ethics Officer roles are increasingly common, and their presence encourages executive leaders to get involved in defining ethical technology standards.

Organizations drive consensus, then action

Trainings, issue reporting practices, and incentives can encourage people to adopt ethical standards and behaviors. After developing those standards, companies could focus on addressing ethical risks in technology development and put knowledge from trainings into action.

Aligning with employees on ethics is key

Employers face a challenge coordinating with their workforces to embed trust in professional ecosystems, and worker trust in organizations’ use of technology may be declining. To rebuild trust and strengthen employee engagement, organizations need to proactively address their workers’ ethical concerns.

Good ethics lead to good decisions

Discover how ethical technology standards can improve your organization’s emerging technology and GenAI strategy and expand your organization’s potential.

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Lara Abrash

Lara Abrash

Chair | Deloitte US
+1 973 602 6001
Beena Ammanath

Beena Ammanath

Global Deloitte AI Institute Leader | Trustworthy AI Leader
+1 415 783 4562