Should ethical considerations be integrated earlier in the project lifecycle?

I believe that with the rise of AI use, ethics should be included in the Project Management Plan.

Yes, I believe ethical considerations should be integrated early in the project lifecycle. Addressing them upfront helps identify risks, establish clear boundaries and avoid difficult compromises later. However, the approach should also depend on the severity of the ethical considerations, so that risks, preventive measures and mitigations can be clearly identified.

When there is pressure to move quickly, I try to balance momentum with appropriate ethical safeguards. Any concern that could be unlawful, harmful to people or against the organization’s policies or values should be clearly flagged, communicated to the team and escalated when necessary. This helps create awareness and ensures that ethical considerations are addressed before they become bigger risks, while still allowing the project to move forward responsibly.

I think this should be addressed early, in the kickoff meeting, and then reviewed on a regular basis.

Yes, Lissette.
I would integrate ethical considerations from the earliest consequential decisions, but I would not treat ethics as a one-time gate at the beginning of the project.
Ethical judgment should remain active whenever new evidence, stakeholders, uses, risks, or consequences materially change the decision context.

When there is pressure to move ahead without adequate ethical consideration, I would first make the issue explicit: who may be affected, what benefits and harms are possible, who bears the risk, what assumptions are being made, and what becomes difficult to reverse if we proceed.
I would then clarify who has legitimate decision authority, document the relevant evidence and trade-offs, and escalate when the consequences exceed the project manager’s authority or when professional, legal, safety, or other obligations require independent challenge.

I would also question whether considering ethics early necessarily slows the project.
It may slow a particular decision, but prevent rework, stakeholder resistance, regulatory problems, or irreversible commitments later.
Local speed at the beginning is not necessarily better flow across the project lifecycle.

The important distinction, for me, is that ethics should be neither a late compliance exercise nor an early checklist.
Compliance can establish boundaries, but it does not resolve every ethical question.
The objective is to embed ethical judgment where consequential decisions are made, before important options disappear, while preserving the ability to reconsider those decisions as evidence and circumstances change.