Designing for dignity: A sociotechnical framework for AI-mediated systems

ABSTRACT:

This paper introduces Dignity-Centered Design (DCD), a sociotechnical framework for AI-mediated systems. While AI ethics often focuses on concepts such as fairness and transparency, DCD evaluates how systems shape lived experience, power dynamics, and human agency. Drawing on healthcare traditions and the Dignity Index, the framework articulates three dimensions (individual, relational, and systemic) alongside five core principles. It includes a Dignity Spectrum in AI System Design to assess design choices and applies these to healthcare AI to support reflective practice.