5. Empirical Study

The outcome of the literature research shows that definitions and AI guidelines are differently understood between humans as well as within countries and cultures. Many papers describe AI technologies, social AI topics, and different approaches at academic research level. Nevertheless, there is no signed, committed, and implemented common European or global AI guideline now. Therefore, it depends on the countries itself, if and how they push AI technology. For the moment, companies of all maturity levels are developing AI systems based on their idea to generate business and to shape AI technology applications. Addressing ethical and moral topics related to AI is still in an early stage as it is not about “good or bad” or “right or wrong.” Moral and ethical issues regarding AI are critical and important for the society. Therefore, it needs an open discussion on different levels and a broad general understanding of the benefits and the risks. To build a bridge between academic research and AI business drivers, this empirical research analyses the understanding and awareness about the social impact of AI products and services from a management perspective. The focus of this book is to answer the question “What kind of awareness does the management have about the social impact of their Artificial Intelligence (AI) product or service?” by conducting expert interviews. The aim of this research is to further investigate the management understanding by answering the research question based on five sub-questions.