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Ethical principles

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Audience

This guideline is intended for senior parliamentary managers and senior IT professionals in parliaments with responsibility for implementing AI and for its ongoing governance and management.

About this guideline

Parliamentary use of AI needs to be grounded in strong ethical practices. While this is true of AI use in any organization, it is particularly important for parliaments, which must ensure that they maintain public trust and confidence. Although the potential risks associated with AI use are generally agreed upon, managing and mitigating these risks requires an understanding of ethical principles.

This guideline and its sub-guidelines present a range of ethical principles related to AI. They discuss how AI can be implemented ethically across parliamentary processes and practice, at all levels of the institution. Ethical principles for AI are explored across eight areas:

  • Privacy
  • Transparency
  • Accountability
  • Fairness and non-discrimination
  • Robustness and safety
  • Human autonomy and oversight
  • Societal and environmental well-being
  • Intellectual property

Why ethical principles matter

In order to ensure that AI systems are trustworthy and used responsibly, parliaments should establish a code of ethics for the use of AI. This code should be applied during the use, development and deployment of AI systems, in order to manage or mitigate the risks of these technologies while maximizing their benefits.

The code of ethics should be explicit about what parliament expects from the operation of AI systems and from the people involved in their production and use. It should align with relevant national and international laws, regulations and standards. It should include recommendations, guidance and limitations for each ethical principle, which should apply throughout the entire AI system life cycle – from planning to decommissioning.

Developing ethical principles for parliaments

There are many resources available to parliaments to guide them in developing ethical principles for AI use. Some parliaments may already have a framework in place that can be adapted.

The following section presents a model that parliaments can adopt if they wish. In this model, ethical principles for parliamentary AI use are broken down into eight areas:

  • Privacy: AI systems should respect and uphold privacy rights and data protection.
  • Transparency: People should be able to understand when and how they are being impacted by AI, through transparency and responsible disclosure. 
  • Accountability: It should be possible to identify who is responsible for the different phases of the AI system life cycle.
  • Fairness and non-discrimination: AI systems should be inclusive, accessible and not cause unfair discrimination against individuals, communities or groups.
  • Robustness and safety: AI systems should reliably operate in accordance with their intended purpose.
  • Human autonomy and oversight: AI systems should respect people’s freedom to express opinions and make decisions.
  • Societal and environmental well-being: AI systems should respect and promote societal well-being and environmental good.
  • Intellectual property: AI systems should respect intellectual property rights.

 

Figure 1: Ethical principles for parliamentsFigure 1: Ethical principles for parliamentsFigure 1: Ethical principles for parliaments

From minimizing biases and ensuring robust oversight to maintaining clear communication and protecting personal data, these principles work together to create a comprehensive framework for ethical AI use. By adhering to these principles, parliaments can harness the benefits of AI while mitigating risks, fostering public trust and upholding their democratic responsibilities.

Each of these areas is explored in turn in the remainder of this guideline, and in the associated sub-guidelines, which describe the specific challenges and considerations for parliaments, and offer practical guidance, actionable strategies and recommendations.

 

Privacy

This sub-guideline explores the principle of privacy in AI governance for parliaments, with a focus on personal data protection. It outlines specific privacy concerns in various parliamentary work processes, including legislative, administrative and citizen interaction contexts. It emphasizes the importance of justifying and limiting the use of personal data in AI systems, and provides guidance on handling sensitive information. Special attention is given to the challenges posed by generative AI in processing personal and sensitive data. 

Overall, this sub-guideline provides a framework for parliaments to develop and maintain AI systems that respect privacy and protect personal data.

For further guidance on the principle of privacy, refer to the sub-guideline Ethical principles: Privacy.

 

Transparency

This sub-guideline explores the principle of transparency in AI governance forparliaments. It defines transparency as the communication of appropriate information about AI systems in an understandable and accessible format. The sub-guideline addresses three key aspects of transparency: traceability, explainability and communication. 

Highlighting the importance of documenting the entire life cycle of AI systems, from planning to decommissioning, it provides practical recommendations for implementing transparency. These include risk assessment documentation, standardized methods for explaining AI decisions, and clear communication about AI system capabilities and limitations. The sub-guideline also offers specific guidance on ensuring transparency in generative AI applications, acknowledging the unique challenges they present. 

Overall, this sub-guideline provides a framework for parliaments to develop and maintain AI systems that are transparent, accountable and aligned with democratic values.

For further guidance on the principle of transparency, refer to the sub-guideline Ethical principles: Transparency.

 

Accountability

This sub-guideline explores the principle of accountability in AI governance for parliaments. It emphasizes that while AI systems themselves are not responsible for their actions, clear accountability structures are essential.

The sub-guideline discusses the importance of auditability and risk management throughout the AI system life cycle. It provides practical recommendations for implementing accountability, including stakeholder identification and risk assessment processes, and for preparing for both internal and external audits. 

Overall, this sub-guideline provides a framework for parliaments to develop and maintain AI systems that are accountable and aligned with democratic values.

For further guidance on the principle of transparency, refer to the sub-guideline Ethical principles: Accountability.

 

Fairness and non-discrimination

This sub-guideline explores the principle of fairness and non-discrimination in AI governance for parliaments, including minimizing biases in legislative processes and citizen interactions. It emphasizes the importance of trust and provides specific recommendations for dealing with potential biases.

Overall, this sub-guideline provides a framework for parliaments to develop and maintain AI systems that are fair, non-discriminatory and free from biases.

For further guidance on the principle of transparency, refer to the sub-guideline Ethical principles: Fairness and non-discrimination.

 

Robustness and safety

This sub-guideline explores the principle of robustness and safety in AI governance for parliaments, emphasizing that, in order to be trustworthy, AI systems should be robust to adversity and to changes within the environment for which they were designed.

The sub-guideline presents the principle of robustness and safety through two lenses: resilience to failures that could cause damage to people, organizations or the environment or that could prevent traceability, and resilience to cyberattacks.

Overall, this sub-guideline provides a framework for parliaments to develop and maintain AI systems that are robust and safe.

For further guidance on the principle of transparency, refer to the sub-guideline Ethical principles: Robustness and safety.

 

Human autonomy and oversight

This sub-guideline explores the principle of human autonomy and oversight in AI governance for parliaments. It refers to the way in which AI systems interact with humans, as well as the way in which information is stored, transmitted and secured. It stresses that parliaments, as enablers of a democratic, flourishing and equitable society, must support the user’s agency and uphold fundamental rights and that, in an AI context, this requires human oversight.

In this sub-guideline, special attention is given to the challenges posed by generative AI, emphasizing the need for robust feedback channels and frequent human checks.

Overall, this sub-guideline provides a framework for parliaments to develop and maintain AI systems that promote human autonomy and allow for human oversight.

For further guidance on the principle of transparency, refer to the sub-guideline Ethical principles: Human autonomy and oversight.

 

Intellectual property

This sub-guideline explores the principle of intellectual property in AI governance for parliaments. It emphasizes that everyone involved in an AI system’s life cycle, including users, must respect intellectual property in order to protect the investment of rights-holders in original content. It covers copyrights, accessory rights, and contractual restrictions on accessing and using content.

Overall, this sub-guideline provides a framework for parliaments to develop and maintain AI systems that respect intellectual property rights.

For further guidance on the principle of transparency, refer to the sub-guideline Ethical principles: Intellectual property.

 

Societal and environmental well-being

This sub-guideline explores the principle of societal and environmental well-being in AI governance for parliaments. It emphasizes that, owing to the ubiquitous nature of AI in society, this technology should be used for people’s well-being. It further stresses that applications of AI should not negatively affect people’s physical and mental well-being or harm the environment or society at large.

Overall, this sub-guideline provides a framework for parliaments to develop and maintain AI systems that protect and promote societal and environmental well-being.

For further guidance on the principle of transparency, refer to the sub-guideline Ethical principles: Societal and environmental well-being.


The Guidelines for AI in parliaments are published by the IPU in collaboration with the Parliamentary Data Science Hub in the IPU’s Centre for Innovation in Parliament. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence. It may be freely shared and reused with acknowledgement of the IPU. For more information about the IPU’s work on artificial intelligence, please visit www.ipu.org/AI or contact [email protected].

Sub-Guidelines

Ethical principles: Fairness and non-discrimination

Ethical principles: Human autonomy and oversight

Ethical principles: Societal and environmental well-being