A realisation of ethical concerns with smartphone personal health monitoring apps

The pervasiveness of smartphones has facilitated a new way in which owners of devices can monitor their health using applications (apps) that are installed on their smartphones. Smartphone personal health monitoring (SPHM) collects and stores health related data of the user either locally or in a third party storing mechanism. They are also capable of giving feedback to the user of the app in response to conditions are provided to the app therefore empowering the user to actively make decisions to adjust their lifestyle. Regardless of the benefits that this new innovative technology offers to its users, there are some ethical concerns to the user of SPHM apps. These ethical concerns are in some way connected to the features of SPHM apps. From a literature survey, this paper attempts to recognize ethical issues with personal health monitoring apps on smartphones, viewed in light of general ethics of ubiquitous computing. The paper argues that there are ethical concerns with the use of SPHM apps regardless of the benefits that the technology offers to users due to SPHM apps’ ubiquity leaving them open to known and emerging ethical concerns. The paper then propose a need further empirical research to validate the claim

Ethical Reflections of Human Brain Research and Smart Information Systems

open access journalThis case study explores ethical issues that relate to the use of Smart Infor-mation Systems (SIS) in human brain research. The case study is based on the Human Brain Project (HBP), which is a European Union funded project. The project uses SIS to build a research infrastructure aimed at the advancement of neuroscience, medicine and computing. The case study was conducted to assess how the HBP recognises and deal with ethical concerns relating to the use of SIS in human brain research. To under-stand some of the ethical implications of using SIS in human brain research, data was collected through a document review and three semi-structured interviews with partic-ipants from the HBP. Results from the case study indicate that the main ethical concerns with the use of SIS in human brain research include privacy and confidentiality, the security of personal data, discrimination that arises from bias and access to the SIS and their outcomes. Furthermore, there is an issue with the transparency of the processes that are involved in human brain research. In response to these issues, the HBP has put in place different mechanisms to ensure responsible research and innovation through a dedicated pro-gram. The paper provides lessons for the responsible implementation of SIS in research, including human brain research and extends some of the mechanisms that could be employed by researchers and developers of SIS for research in addressing such issues

Ethical Implications of Predictive Risk Intelligence

open access articleThis paper presents a case study on the ethical issues that relate to the use of Smart Information Systems (SIS) in predictive risk intelligence. The case study is based on a company that is using SIS to provide predictive risk intelligence in supply chain management (SCM), insurance, finance and sustainability. The pa-per covers an assessment of how the company recognises ethical concerns related to SIS and the ways it deals with them. Data was collected through a document review and two in-depth semi-structured interviews. Results from the case study indicate that the main ethical concerns with the use of SIS in predictive risk intelli-gence include protection of the data being used in predicting risk, data privacy and consent from those whose data has been collected from data providers such as so-cial media sites. Also, there are issues relating to the transparency and accountabil-ity of processes used in predictive intelligence. The interviews highlighted the issue of bias in using the SIS for making predictions for specific target clients. The last ethical issue was related to trust and accuracy of the predictions of the SIS. In re-sponse to these issues, the company has put in place different mechanisms to ensure responsible innovation through what it calls Responsible Data Science. Under Re-sponsible Data Science, the identified ethical issues are addressed by following a code of ethics, engaging with stakeholders and ethics committees. This paper is important because it provides lessons for the responsible implementation of SIS in industry, particularly for start-ups. The paper acknowledges ethical issues with the use of SIS in predictive risk intelligence and suggests that ethics should be a central consideration for companies and individuals developing SIS to create meaningful positive change for society

An Evaluation of Stakeholder Engagement in ICT Research Projects

Modern societies rely upon research to deal with social challenges through research and innovation (R&I) that is carried out in ICT research projects. ICT research projects are important in generating breakthrough technologies and translating these technologies into solutions for the wider society. In order to develop societally acceptable and desirable solutions, ICT research projects engage different stakeholders who play an important role in encouraging responsible outcomes. Despite the growing recognition of stakeholder engagement in ICT research projects, there is limited evidence in the literature to demonstrate its value. This gap is reflective of a general lack of discourse on qualitative evaluation of stakeholder engagement in ICT research projects. To adequately inform and support engagement activities in ICT research projects, particularly concerning the attainment of socially desirable outcomes, there is a need to understand the efficacy of stakeholder engagement. Therefore, to address this gap, the study synthesises the literature on stakeholder engagement, responsible research and innovation (RRI) and looks at the different approaches that are used to evaluate and understand the value of stakeholder engagement in a wider research context. The synthesis is done to inform a conceptual model which is then used to unfold and analyse the value of stakeholder engagement in attaining socially desirable outcomes in ICT research projects. The proposed conceptual evaluation model informs a qualitative investigation involving a case study of four ICT research projects. Findings suggest that the efficacy of stakeholder engagement in ICT research projects, particularly with regards to the attainment of socially desirable outcomes, is predominantly based on a focused identification of stakeholders, the relevance of the form of stakeholder engagement activities and the rationale behind the engagement. Therefore, to understand the value of stakeholder engagement in achieving socially desirable and acceptable outcomes in ICT research projects, a combination of three different approaches to evaluation, including theory-based, case-based and participatory approaches, is suggested. The study contributes to practice and theory by emphasising the vital interrelation between stakeholder engagement and the achievement of responsible outcomes in ICT R&I. The study guides better alignment of stakeholder engagement and R&I processes within ICT research projects in achieving positive outcomes for the society. It identifies specific elements of stakeholder engagement which researchers and practitioners should focus on to promote stakeholder engagement towards ensuring better R&I outcomes in ICT research. Furthermore, the research contributes to theory by looking at how evaluation theory can support understanding the value of stakeholder engagement in ICT research projects within the context of responsible research and innovation.The research was sponsored and benefited from the activities undertaken in the Stakeholders Acting Together on the Ethical Impact Assessment of Research and Innovation – SATORI project which received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 612231

Stakeholder Engagement and Responsible Research & Innovation in promoting Sustainable Development and Empowerment through ICT

ICT plays a significant role in both developed and developing countries across the globe. ICTs are also seen as playing an important role in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, their importance is seen in terms of achieving sustainable development in the areas of health, education, social inclusion, global partnership and empowerment among others. However, much ground cannot be made without creating and involving communities and networks that will support the sustainable use and development of ICT in emerging and developing countries. One concept that advocates for the inclusion of communities and establishment of networks around the use and development of ICT is Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). At the core of RRI is the engagement of different stakeholders within communities and networks that are involved with ICT development in emerging and developing countries to ensure sustainable development. Using stakeholder theory, we introduce the work being conducted in the Responsible Research and Innovation Networked Globally (RRING) project to highlight the important role of stakeholders as part of RRI in the use and development of ICTs in emerging and developing countries. In particular, we will discuss how stakeholder engagement as part of RRI can be understood in an emerging country like India, specifically through our discussion of a women’s artisan handicraft centre known as Gramshree in the heart of Ahmedabad, India. We aim to highlight aspects of stakeholder engagement, the role of stakeholders in implementing ICTs in women’s sustainable development and empowerment. The aim is to showcase how sustainable development and empowerment could be achieved through the formation of a community network around ICT use and development

Responsible Data Governance in Projects: Applying a Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Framework

There are large amounts of data that are collected, processed and exchanged in projects and they form the basis of innovation and factfinding activities that are at the core of project activities. Nevertheless, such data can be irresponsibly used, managed and governed during its lifecycle, starting from creation all the way to its use. Given the importance of data and the risk of being misused, it is important to understand how responsibilities for data management can or should be designed in projects. This paper showcases how the concept of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) can be implemented in projects to mitigate irresponsible data management and use. The paper draws on the practices undertaken in two EU funded research projects to help practitioners find ways of dealing with data management related issues

Technofixing the Future: Ethical Side Effects of Using AI and Big Data to meet the SDGs

While the use of smart information systems (the combination of AI and Big Data) offer great potential for meeting many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they also raise a number of ethical challenges in their implementation. Through the use of six empirical case studies, this paper will examine potential ethical issues relating to use of SIS to meet the challenges in six of the SDGs (2, 3, 7, 8, 11, and 12). The paper will show that often a simple “technofix”, such as through the use of SIS, is not sufficient and may exacerbate, or create new, issues for the development community using SIS

The Ethical Balance of Using Smart Information Systems for Promoting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are internationally agreed goals that allow us to determine what humanity, as represented by 193 member states, finds acceptable and desirable. The paper explores how technology can be used to address the SDGs and in particular Smart Information Systems (SIS). SIS, the technologies that build on big data analytics, typically facilitated by AI techniques such as machine learning, are expected to grow in importance and impact. Some of these impacts are likely to be beneficial, notably the growth in efficiency and profits, which will contribute to societal wellbeing. At the same time, there are significant ethical concerns about the consequences of algorithmic biases, job loss, power asymmetries and surveillance, as a result of SIS use. SIS have the potential to exacerbate inequality and further entrench the market dominance of big tech companies, if left uncontrolled. Measuring the impact of SIS on SDGs thus provides a way of assessing whether an SIS or an application of such a technology is acceptable in terms of balancing foreseeable benefits and harms. One possible approach is to use the SDGs as guidelines to determine the ethical nature of SIS implementation. While the idea of using SDGs as a yardstick to measure the acceptability of emerging technologies is conceptually strong, there should be empirical evidence to support such approaches. The paper describes the findings of a set of 6 case studies of SIS across a broad range of application areas, such as smart cities, agriculture, finance, insurance and logistics, explicitly focusing on ethical issues that SIS commonly raise and empirical insights from organisations using these technologies