02/06/26
How do you turn 'responsible AI' principles into everyday practice?
New qualitative research from the Institute of Business Ethics and Acteon explores the human and cultural dimensions of responsible AI adoption: the choices people make, the actions they take, and the habits they develop.
Many organisations have defined what it means for employees to use generative AI responsibly and ethically, implementing new AI frameworks and codes of ethics. Principles like accountability, transparency, and fairness are a solid foundation, but translating them into everyday workplace behaviour remains a challenge.
For this research, IBE and Acteon interviewed senior leaders working in ethics, AI and technology roles, and asked them how their organisations are helping people use AI effectively and responsibly.
“…many participants expressed concern that aspirational principles on their own may not give enough weight to the human factors that determine, in practice, whether AI is used ethically and responsibly.”
- Behavioural aspects of the ethical use of Generative AI
The research team identified three tensions that many workplaces are navigating as they adopt generative AI:
Tension 1: Enablement ↔ Control
Tension 2: Technology approval ↔ Human accountability
Tension 3: Efficiency ↔ Culture
The report examines how organisations are balancing these tensions, and how the competing pressures can influence human behaviour.
“If an organisation focuses too heavily on the technology, at the expense of the human, ethical and cultural dimensions, its approach could fall out of balance. That could create an environment in which mistakes, data breaches, cultural erosion, and reputational damage become more likely.”
- Behavioural aspects of the ethical use of Generative AI
The research also highlights the practical opportunity to create an environment in which, for example, an individual employee:
- checks an AI summary or suggestion for accuracy before acting on it
- thinks critically about what they put into AI, and what they get back
- raises a concern about AI if something feels wrong
These tensions are part of the wider reality of generative AI adoption, and as use accelerates, they may become harder to ignore.
