Why SAP’s Updated AI Ethics Policy Is Based on the Human Rights-Oriented UNESCO Recommendation

Alexa MacDonald

2 months ago

Demands on the SAP Global AI Ethics policy have fundamentally changed since the document was last updated in 2021. While the policy previously only addressed a niche audience of SAP employees developing AI, the advent of generative AI and business AI has changed both the scope of the policy as well as the number of interested stakeholders.

“Generative AI”, explains Vikram Nagendra, director of Sustainability at SAP, “led to an explosion of interest in the policy. Nearly all of the lines of business became involved, business AI is now the centerpiece of our strategy, and today nearly every employee is touched by AI, either building it or as a user.”

Now the latest version of the SAP Global AI Ethics policy is aligned to the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, covering generative AI and applicable to specific partner and third-party systems as well all employees.

The UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI is the most comprehensive global framework available for shaping the development and use of AI systems. Adopted by all 193 Member States, it comprises 10 principles that protect and advance human rights, human dignity, the environment, transparency, accountability, and legal adherence. “Knowing that SAP has aligned its ethical principles on a globally accepted standard means that as long as SAP colleagues comply to these principles during the development, deployment, use, and sale of AI, they can be truly confident that it is to the highest ethical standards,” Nagendra says.

The SAP Global AI Ethics policy comprises 10 guiding principles on AI ethics grounded on the UNESCO principles, and each principle is defined in the context of AI at SAP. A brief section on governance, Nagendra explains, “shows how individual developers and teams are not alone and can rely on both governance bodies and processes for proper handling if there is a problem.”

SAP’s Guiding Principles on AI Ethics

Proportionality and Do Not Harm
Safety and Security
Fairness and Non-Discrimination
Sustainability
Right to Privacy and Data Protection
Human Oversight and Determination
Transparency and Explainability
Responsibility and Accountability
Awareness and Literacy
Multi-Stakeholder and Adaptive Governance and Collaboration

Why Does SAP Use the UNESCO Recommendation?

The UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI is an internationally recognized set of values that reaches beyond current legal adherence and creates ethical safeguards in the absence of national or global standards. For example, the Fairness and Non-Discrimination value commits SAP to not only protecting fairness but also to promoting it and putting in place as many safeguards as possible to avoid discriminatory or biased outcomes.

SAP aligns with the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI because it:

Reinforces SAP’s Commitment to Human Rights

The cornerstone of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI is the protection of human rights and dignity. This aligns with SAP’s commitment to respect and advance human rights across business operations, product lifecycle, and the extended value chain. Upholding this commitment is foundational to SAP’s approach to AI ethics.

“The UNESCO principle of Proportionality and Do Not Harm resonates with me because the power to affect the rights of individuals should correspond to the responsibility to protect the relevant human rights.”

– Camila Lombana Diaz, AI Ethics Expert and Researcher, SAP

Increases Trust with Stakeholders, Employees, and Customers

Grounding SAP’s AI ethics in the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI enables SAP to match business opportunity with human rights considerations and role model behavior for ethically developing, deploying, selling, and internally using AI systems.

Enhances the Reputation of SAP as a Responsible and Socially Conscious Organization

The 10 guiding principles on AI ethics in the SAP Global AI Ethics policy form the basis for SAP’s AI Ethics Handbook. This handbook translates the principles into actionable items and processes to guide the development and deployment of AI systems that have human oversight and determination, are fair and non-discriminatory, and protect and promote sustainability as well as individual privacy. The principles in the SAP Global AI Ethics policy combined with external guidance from the SAP AI Ethics Advisory Panel, internal guidance from the SAP Global AI Ethics steering committee, and the AI Ethics Handbook provide transparency on how SAP delivers responsible AI.

“The UNESCO principle of Sustainability resonates with me because it underlines SAP’s sustainability commitment and the need to assess and address the impacts of AI – both positive and negative – from a holistic perspective. We need to take them into account across the full range of dimensions: human, social, cultural, economic, and environmental.”

– Christine Susanne Mueller, Deputy Human Rights Officer, SAP

Supports Risk Mitigation

The UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI provides a robust, globally recognized framework to help ensure regulatory requirements for customer compliance with current and future regulations related to AI.