Responsible AI by design: embedding diversity, equity and inclusion values into AI development practices

Responsible AI has emerged as a critical concern in Information Systems research, centred on embedding principles such as fairness, accountability and transparency into the development of AI systems. The integration of these principles, particularly those of diversity, equity and inclusion, into everyday design practices remains inconsistent and undertheorised, leaving a gap between ethical aspiration and implementation. To address this, we draw on Value-Belief-Norm theory and introduce perceived diversity climate as an important contextual factor shaping individual ethical behaviour. We model how personal DEI values influence awareness of consequences, moral responsibility and personal norms, and how these are further shaped by perceptions of a positive organisational climate. Using survey data from 194 AI professionals, we test a model in which these cognitive and normative mechanisms jointly predict the adoption of inclusive AI practices. All hypothesised relationships are supported, underscoring the importance of individual-level moral cognition in operationalising RAI. This study advances IS scholarship by shifting the analytical focus from institutional governance to the individual-level values, perceptions and motivational processes through which responsible AI is enacted in practice.