The Ethical Impact Assessment (EIA) has been developed based on a number of existing frameworks and guidelines, benchmarked against other publicly available impact assessments. Use this tool to systematically evaluate the ethical implications of your AI system or campaign.
How Scoring Works
Score the potential negative impact that a campaign or engagement may have. Rate how severe the impact would be to the targeted user/audience, then score how large the impact would be in terms of scale of campaign/engagement (number of people affected). These scores are multiplied and totalled resulting in an Impact score per principle. These are further calculated to produce an overall impact value and required action.
High risk AI systems — such as those used in employment, financial and health outcomes — can have severe impact on users if ethical principles are breached.
Impact Rating Levels & Required Actions
< 1
Minimal ethical impact. Continue current deployment with annual reviews. Document ethical rationale in campaign plans for transparency.
< 5
Low level of ethical impact. Enhance documentation and conduct quarterly spot-checks. Train teams on AI ethics.
< 10
Medium level of ethical impact. Implement immediate low-effort remediations. Develop a 6-month action plan with metrics for progress tracking.
< 15
High level of ethical impact. Pause high-risk activities, perform full audits, and engage ethics/legal experts. Update policies and retrain all staff within 30 days.
≥ 15
Extreme level of ethical impact. Halt deployment in the affected area, notify regulators/stakeholders, and execute a root-cause analysis.
📊
Scoring Guidelines
Use these scales when rating severity and scale
Severity (1–5)
1
Minimal harm; fully reversible, affects few stakeholders.
This assessment is a structured tool to help you surface and document
ethical risk in your AI project. It is not legal, regulatory,
or compliance advice and does not guarantee conformity with
the EU AI Act, GDPR, NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001, or any other framework.
Scores are intended to inform — not replace — your organisation's own
review, legal counsel, and risk decisions. You remain responsible for
the deployment of any AI system you assess.
1. AutonomyScore: 0
Rate if Yes — Manipulation, deception or dark patterns are used:
Criterion
Y / N
Severity (1–5)
Scale (1–5)
Impact
Priority
Proposed Mitigation
Owner
Status
Autonomy Impact Score0
2. OptionalityScore: 0
Rate if No — Scoring reflects absence of protective measures:
Criterion
Y / N
Severity (1–5)
Scale (1–5)
Impact
Priority
Proposed Mitigation
Owner
Status
Optionality Impact Score0
3. Privacy & Data ProtectionScore: 0
Personal data is used — Rate if Yes:
Data Type
Y / N
Severity (1–5)
Scale (1–5)
Impact
Priority
Proposed Mitigation
Owner
Status
Measures taken to protect personal data — Rate if No:
Measure
Y / N
Severity (1–5)
Scale (1–5)
Impact
Priority
Proposed Mitigation
Owner
Status
Privacy & Data Protection Impact Score0
4. Fairness, Bias & InclusionScore: 0
Rate if No — Bias testing conducted:
Criterion
Y / N
Severity (1–5)
Scale (1–5)
Impact
Priority
Proposed Mitigation
Owner
Status
Rate if No — Bias mitigation adopted:
Criterion
Y / N
Severity (1–5)
Scale (1–5)
Impact
Priority
Proposed Mitigation
Owner
Status
Fairness, Bias & Inclusion Impact Score0
5. Transparency & ExplainabilityScore: 0
Rate if No — Transparency measures are in place:
Criterion
Y / N
Severity (1–5)
Scale (1–5)
Impact
Priority
Proposed Mitigation
Owner
Status
Transparency Impact Score0
6. AccountabilityScore: 0
Rate if No — Absence of accountability measures:
Criterion
Y / N
Severity (1–5)
Scale (1–5)
Impact
Priority
Proposed Mitigation
Owner
Status
Accountability Impact Score0
7. SustainabilityScore: 0
Rate if Yes — Environmental impact concerns are present:
