Raising AI Ethics Awareness through an AI Ethics Quiz for Software Practitioners

Context:Today, ethical issues surrounding AI systems are increasingly prevalent, highlighting the critical need to integrate AI ethics into system design to prevent societal harm. Raising awareness and fostering a deep understanding of AI ethics among software practitioners is essential for achieving this goal. However, research indicates a significant gap in practitioners' awareness and knowledge of AI ethics and ethical principles. While much effort has been directed toward helping practitioners operationalise AI ethical principles such as fairness, transparency, accountability, and privacy, less attention has been paid to raising initial awareness, which should be the foundational step. Objective: Addressing this gap, we developed a software-based tool, the AI Ethics Quiz, to raise awareness and enhance the knowledge of AI ethics among software practitioners. Our objective was to organise interactive workshops, introduce the AI Ethics Quiz, and evaluate its effectiveness in enhancing awareness and knowledge of AI ethics and ethical principles among practitioners. Method: We conducted two one-hour workshops (one in-person and one online) involving 29 software practitioners. Data was collected through pre-quiz questionnaire, the AI Ethics Quiz, and a post-quiz questionnaire. Results: The anonymous responses revealed that the quiz significantly improved practitioners' awareness and understanding of AI ethics. Additionally, practitioners found the quiz engaging and reported it created a meaningful learning experience regarding AI ethics. In this paper, we share insights gained from conducting these interactive workshops and introducing the AI Ethics Quiz to practitioners. Conclusion: We also provide recommendations for software companies and leaders to adopt similar initiatives, which may help them enhance practitioners' awareness and understanding of AI ethics.