Social Sciences & RRI

Social sciences & responsible research and innovation resources.

Data Ethics, AI and Responsible Innovation

This story-driven course will look at real-world controversies and ethical challenges to introduce and critically discuss the social, political, legal and ethical issues surrounding data-driven innovation, including those posed by big data, AI systems, and machine learning systems. We will drill down into case studies, structured around core concerns being raised by society, governments and industry, such as bias, fairness, rights, data re-use, data protection and data privacy, discrimination, transparency and accountability. Throughout the course, we will emphasise the importance of being mindful of the realities and complexities of making ethical decisions in a landscape of competing interests.

Website: https://www.edx.org/course/Data-Ethics-AI-and-Responsible-Innovation

RRI Toolkit

Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is a framework to develop an ethically acceptable, socially desirable, and sustainable research. To do so RRI encourages all actors to make research and innovation more diverse and inclusive, open and transparent, anticipative and reflective, as well as responsive and able to adapt to changes.

RRI Tools is a European project aiming to develop a Toolkit on RRI with the participation of all the concerned stakeholders: Researchers, Civil Society, Innovators and the Education community, with a special focus on Policy Makers in order to impact significantly in the future governance of research and innovation.

Website: https://www.rri-tools.eu

Expectations

Nordmann , A and Rip, A (2009) Mind the gap revisited. Nature Nanotechnology 4: 273-274.

Governance

Jasanoff, S. (2007). Technologies of humility. Nature 451, 33: https://www.nature.com/articles/450033a

Guston, G ‘Innovation Policy: Not Just a Jumbo Shrimp’ Nature 454 (21st August 2008): 940-41: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v454/n7207/full/454940a.html

Sarewitz, D. R. & Nelson, R. R. (2008) Three rules for technological fixes. Nature 456, 871- 872: https://www.nature.com/articles/456871a

Kaebnick et al. on precaution and gene drives:  https://science.sciencemag.org/content/354/6313/710.full

Public Engagement

Joly, P-B & Rip, A (2007) A timely harvest. Nature 450 (8 Nov): 174: https://www.nature.com/articles/450174a

Wickson, F; Delgado, A., and Kjølberg, K. (2010). Who or what is the public? Nature Nanotechnology 5 (11): 757–758

Governance

Rogers, M (1975) ‘The Pandora's Box congress’ Rolling Stone 189 (19 June 1975): 37-40, 42, 74, 77-78, 82: http://web.mit.edu/endy/www/readings/RollingStone(189)37.pdf

Biosecurity

Jefferson, C, Lentzos, F and Marris, C (2014) Synthetic biology and biosecurity: challenging the “myths”. Frontiers in Public Health 2: 1-15