Digital Leadership and Ethical Challenges in the Age of AI Integration

Abstract

Digital transformation, driven by the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), has significantly altered leadership dynamics across various sectors. However, behind its potential efficiencies, various ethical challenges arise, such as algorithmic bias, privacy violations, and the transparency of automated decisions. This research aims to explore how digital leaders respond to these challenges and to develop a conceptual model of AI-based ethical leadership. The research uses a qualitative approach with a descriptive method, involving in-depth interviews with 12 organizational leaders in the technology, education, and digital governance sectors. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis techniques, which resulted in five main themes: ethical awareness, AI ethics policy, the influence of leadership styles, stakeholder engagement, and implementation challenges. The results show that despite a high awareness of the importance of AI ethics, only a small percentage of organizations have formal ethics policies in place. Leaders with a transformational style tend to be more responsive to ethical issues than those with a transactional style. The study concludes that an ethical leadership framework, which combines technology literacy, value awareness, and collaborative governance, is crucial for navigating the AI era. These findings make a theoretical and practical contribution to building a new direction for ethical digital governance.