Rolls-Royce and the Athena Framework
Except for the occasional tech-gone-wild headline, most people are blissfully unaware of how and where brands use AI. In this space, I explore examples of the symbiotic relationship between safe, ethical and accountable AI principles and brand values.
The Rolls-Royce global brand value statement reads:
Our strive for perfection guides us. Rolls-Royce is an everlasting expression of the exceptional, where everything we do reflects our persistence and commitment towards the remarkable.
Without getting into all that Rolls-Royce produces (it is a £52B company in 2025), the brand sets a very high bar for quality and customer experience. So, it can be no surprise that what began as a practical internal tool for ethical AI innovation and governance has evolved into a branded downloadable checklist for use externally across sectors, with insights from diverse sectors, including music, oncology, and education.
What distinguishes the Athena Framework is its accessibility—condensed to a single page and written for non-engineers, it provides relevant guidance for organizations of all sizes.
Practical Ethics, Not Just Theory
Thankfully, it transforms abstract ethical questions into actionable steps that build trust and confidence in an AI system. And the videos on the site (link below) address some common questions, including:
Will ethical AI slow innovation?
Contrary to concerns about delays, Rolls says the framework accelerates development by preventing costly backtracking. It helps identify data bias early and validates whether AI is appropriate for specific use cases, preventing the use of AI for AI's sake.
Does ethical AI limit creativity?
Rather than constraining innovation, the framework expands thinking by examining use cases from multiple perspectives: Human impact, Accuracy, and Governance. This approach prompts unconventional thinking and better questions and reveals opportunities that might otherwise remain unexplored.
Strategic Alignment
For Rolls-Royce, the Athena Framework ensures their product strategy remains consistent with their core values—a crucial consideration for any enterprise implementing AI – especially consumer-facing generative AI systems. The framework is designed for practical application: "Have a play with it, see if it works (or doesn't) for your particular use-case, but join in the conversation."
Is the Athena Framework the Rolls-Royce of Ethical AI? While it is fun to be evaluating the brand that is short-hand for “Best in the World”, I can’t say that the Athena Framework makes that claim, but it is certainly a valuable, thoughtful, and authentic gesture.
Rather than quietly create a framework internally to direct product innovation and safeguard the brand, Rolls chose to also package and promote what it had created as a function (and evidence) of its brand beliefs. A great example of the new value created by an authentic approach to brand and Responsible AI.
The Rolls-Royce Athena Framework: https://www.rolls-royce.com/innovation/the-aletheia-framework.aspx
Thanks to Olivia Gambelin’s “Responsible AI” for providing the Rolls-Royce example. https://www.oliviagambelin.com/book