Impact AI Method - Technical Survey/ AIMS-Templates

This technical survey is part of the materials provided for the Impact AI Method, which was developed within the Impact AI project, a transdisciplinary research project at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society. The Impact AI Method is designed for a holistic yet practice-oriented impact assessment of running AI use cases. The framework aims to assess the implications a given AI use case has for people, society, and the planet. The technical survey is based on the AI through the lens of Multidimensional Sustainability Templates (AIMS-Templates), which were developed particularly for the Impact AI assessment approach (State, Züger & Winter 2026). The core function of the technical survey is to provide all data necessary to understand the architecture, including data and models used for a specific running AI use case. The AIMS-Templates consist of three sub-templates covering the AI system, the AI model, and the dataset. Having three separate sub-templates allows for a modular use of the templates, which facilitates the documentation of AI use cases involving more than one AI model or dataset.