Open AccessEthics and society review: Ethics reflection as a precondition to research funding
Author(s) -
Michael S. Bernstein,
Margaret Levi,
David Magnus,
Betsy Rajala,
Debra Satz,
Charla Waeiss
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2117261118
Subject(s) - engineering ethics , commit , research ethics , general partnership , inclusion (mineral) , political science , public relations , sociology , computer science , law , social science , engineering , database
Significance Research fields that hold transformative possibilities for improving the human condition also raise risks of negative ethical and societal outcomes. These ethical and societal risks fall outside the purview of most research reviews. We introduce an iterative review process that draws these fields into reflection and mitigation of ethical and societal risks by conditioning access to grant funding on completion of the process. A 1-y evaluation of our approach with an artificial intelligence funding program at our university suggests that this approach is well-received by researchers and positively influenced the design of their research. This process has also generated lists of common risks and mitigation strategies, to provide scaffolding for future processes.