Contemporary Concerns: AI, Research Ethics, and the NSF RFI
Oct. 22, 2024—Last month, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) issued a request for information (RFI) regarding Section 10343 of the CHIPS and Science Act, which directs the agency to incorporate ethical, social, safety, and security considerations into the merit review process. Around the world, funding agencies are bringing ethics consideration into their review processes, and with new technology, complying with ethical standards is more important than ever.
Ethical review
The CHIPS and Science Act requires NSF to take this step to help mitigate potential harm before it happens. Ethical considerations are paramount in rapidly advancing technology fields like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and biotechnology. Typically, ethical questions fall into a few topic areas, including participant protections, research integrity, ethical review processes, societal implications, inclusivity and engagement, and responsible conduct. It’s increasingly common for organizations to have internal frameworks and policies to ensure they meet accepted industry standards, data security requirements, privacy protections, and more, as well as processes for resolving any identified issues. By incorporating ethical considerations into its review process, NSF helps further ensure the safety and ethics of research projects funded under its purview.
Other funding agencies, such as U.K. Research and Innovation (UKRI), have incorporated ethics into their review process. Peer reviewers and panel members consider whether the proposal adequately addresses ethical issues that may arise. Any disagreement with the project’s approach may be grounds for rejecting the proposal. Additionally, UKRI only funds research organizations with processes in place that comply with its policy on research integrity.
The European Research Council (ERC) also incorporates ethics processes before issuing grants. Proposals must undergo an ethics self-assessment, which speeds the process and helps ERC determine if potential ethical issues are sufficiently addressed. After the self-assessment, ERC works with experts to develop an ethics summary report, which contains a general analysis of ethical concerns. ERC may request that submitting organizations establish an ethics board or advisor, which can help researchers establish good ethics management and assure the ERC that its policies and guidelines will be followed.
Challenges and impact
New technologies have raised novel and often serious ethical concerns worldwide. AI continues to be a hotly debated topic, especially as capabilities evolve. Algorithmic bias, privacy, and transparency are some of the key concerns. Other research fields, like biomedicine, involve concerns like informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, and risks to human subjects. Beyond these widely publicized considerations, every research field has ethical complexities to be navigated, and these considerations include all sectors in the research landscape, including university, industry, government, and nonprofit.
Integrating ethics into the review process is important to prevent unintended harmful consequences. However, these steps may impact the creation of competitive, compliant proposals, which is already challenging for some research organizations. These changes may also affect the trajectory of research paths and scopes, particularly those with more perplexing ethical concerns. NSF is searching for community input, so it’s vital that stakeholders from across the research ecosystem lend their expertise in the development of reasonable, insightful ethical standards that ensure the reliability of research outcomes. Submit your perspective by Nov. 15, 2024.
Why it matters
As emerging technology continues to evolve, it’s inevitable that new ethical concerns must be addressed. Garnering the research community’s input aims to inform policy decisions so research ethics considerations work to effectively promote safety and public trust while still enabling innovation that helps society thrive.
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