Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence as Continuous Proportionalization: Fashion Image Generation at OTTO
Abstract
The inherent ambivalence of machine learning-based artificial intelligence (AI) technologies makes ensuring their responsible use a pressing concern. While the literature converges on the importance of governance at the organizational level, uncertainty remains about what responsible (use of) AI actually is. We conceptualize responsible AI as both a process and outcome of social evaluation. We propose a model (“continuous proportionalization”) that explains how organizations construct collective interpretations of responsible AI along the dimensions of legitimacy, suitability, necessity, and proportionality. We illustrate the model through a case study of AI-based fashion image generation at Germany’s largest e-commerce company, OTTO.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
Digital Economy and Work Transformation
Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI)
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Swiss Journal of Business
- Publisher
- Nomos Verlag
- Volume
- 80
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 7–29
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Language
- EN