The deployment and use of AI systems should be both safe and broadly ethically acceptable. The principles-based ethics assurance argument pattern is one proposal in the AI ethics landscape that seeks to support and achieve that aim. The purpose of this argument pattern or framework is to structure reasoning about, and to communicate and foster confidence in, the ethical acceptability of uses of specific real-world AI systems in complex socio-technical contexts. This paper presents the interim findings of a case study applying this ethics assurance framework to the use of Dora, an AI-based telemedicine system, to assess its viability and usefulness as an approach. The case study process to date has revealed some of the positive ethical impacts of the Dora platform, as well as unexpected insights and areas to prioritise for evaluation, such as risks to the frontline clinician, particularly in respect of clinician autonomy. The ethics assurance argument pattern offers a practical framework not just for identifying issues to be addressed, but also to start to construct solutions in the form of adjustments to the distribution of benefits, risks and constraints on human autonomy that could reduce ethical disparities across affected stakeholders. Though many challenges remain, this research represents a step in the direction towards the development and use of safe and ethically acceptable AI systems and, ideally, a shift towards more comprehensive and inclusive evaluations of AI systems in general.

翻译：人工智能系统的部署与使用既应具备安全性，也应在广泛意义上符合伦理可接受性。基于原则的伦理保障论证模式是AI伦理领域中的一种提案，旨在支持并实现这一目标。该论证模式或框架旨在构建关于特定现实AI系统在复杂社会技术情境中使用的伦理可接受性推理，并促进与传达对其的信心。本文展示了一项案例研究的阶段性成果，该案例将伦理保障框架应用于名为Dora的AI远程医疗系统，以评估该方法作为途径的可行性与实用性。迄今的案例研究过程揭示了Dora平台的若干积极伦理影响，以及意想不到的洞见和需要优先评估的领域，例如对一线临床医生的风险，尤其是在临床医生自主性方面的风险。伦理保障论证模式不仅为识别待解决问题提供了实用框架，还能通过调整利益分配、风险制约及对人类自主性的限制（以减少跨受影响利益相关方的伦理差距）来开始构建解决方案。尽管仍面临诸多挑战，本研究标志着向开发和使用安全且伦理可接受的AI系统迈出一步，并理想地推动了AI系统整体向更全面、更包容的评估模式转变。