# Ethically Aligned Design of Autonomous Systems: Industry viewpoint and an empirical study

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.07946 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.07946/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 19 Jun 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Affective Game Computing: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.14104/) (2023)
- [Addressing the regulatory gap: moving towards an EU AI audit ecosystem beyond the AI Act by including civil society](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.07904/) (2024)
- [The Ethics of AI in Games](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.07392/) (2023)
- [Ethics in the Age of AI: An Analysis of AI Practitioners' Awareness and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.10057/) (2023)
- [Stakeholder Participation for Responsible AI Development: Disconnects Between Guidance and Current Practice](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.09873/) (2025)
- [The Different Faces of AI Ethics Across the World: A Principle-Implementation Gap Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.03225/) (2022)
- [What We Know about Responsible AI Practices in Industry: A Half Decade of Empirical Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.10431/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Progress in the field of artificial intelligence has been accelerating rapidly in the past two decades. Various autonomous systems from purely digital ones to autonomous vehicles are being developed and deployed out on the field. As these systems exert a growing impact on society, ethics in relation to artificial intelligence and autonomous systems have recently seen growing attention among the academia. However, the current literature on the topic has focused almost exclusively on theory and more specifically on conceptualization in the area. To widen the body of knowledge in the area, we conduct an empirical study on the current state of practice in artificial intelligence ethics. We do so by means of a multiple case study of five case companies, the results of which indicate a gap between research and practice in the area. Based on our findings we propose ways to tackle the gap.