Ethical Risk Assessment Research Articles

What About Justice and Power Imbalances? A Relational Approach to Ethical Risk Assessments for AI

Despite the surge in research on the ethical risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI) there is still a clear need for methodologies and practical strategies to assess ethical risks of AI applications. As risk assessment becomes a cornerstone of regulatory initiatives (e.g. EU AI Act) the question remains to what extent these methods are capable of addressing more complex normative issues related to voluntariness, justice and power imbalances in the deployment of AI. The current article examines three common categories of ethical risk assessment: (1) bilateral assessments, such as impact assessment for AI, (2) multilateral assessments, where the perspective of a group of stakeholders is included in the assessment and (3) foresight assessments, where future impacts and risks are assessed. Subsequently, it will make a case for relational risk assessment methods as a supplementary approach to the ethical analysis of AI. It takes as a starting point the three-party model as developed by Hermansson & Hansson (Risk Management 9(3):129–144, 2007) to identify salient ethical issues as they arise in the relationship between three critical parties or roles present in all risk related decisions: the decision-maker, the risk-exposed and the beneficiary. This model is then adjusted to better fit with AI contexts and applied to AI in credit risk scoring to evaluate its merits. Overall, the article seeks to contribute to the development of a more fine-grained understanding of the ethical risks of AI, emphasising the importance of addressing and interrogating relational dimensions such as power imbalances as ethical risks of AI applications.

Democratising complex system modelling

In the contemporary context of an acute need for sustainability and swift response to imminent crises such as global warming, pandemics and economic system disruptions, the focus on responsible decision making, ethical risk assessment and mitigation at all organizational levels is an overarching goal. Our aim is to introduce a deterministic method for investigating the stability of complex systems, in order to find the most important elements of such systems and their impact on different scenarios. The novelty of the current approach lies in its compact format and intuitive nature, designed to accommodate a limited amount of computational resources. The proposed modelling method involves the mapping of complex systems from a diversity of disciplines (economic markets, resource management domain and the community impact of suburbanisation) onto a sequence of chemical reactions and involving a subsequent mathematical analysis. Mapping the results back onto the use cases shows that one can retrieve a considerable amount of detail, making the modelling strategy general enough to be adaptable and scalable while also detailed enough to provide valuable insights for practical scenarios.

Governing Emerging Solar Geoengineering: A Role for Risk-Risk Evaluation?

Abstract: In the face of rapid global heating, ideas of solar geoengineering are receiving increased attention. Yet the governance of such risky emerging technologies is poorly explored. Here I examine how the risks involved in solar geoengineering might be assessed in the context of climate risks in two different models of risk management: the technocratic, and the securitized. I show that neither model alone provides a sufficient foundation for a meaningful ‘risk-risk’ assessment, and suggest a need for better defined, yet broad scope, symmetric assessments using worst-case as well as idealised scenarios, taking into account risks in research and development as well as deployment, and considering the social distribution of risks. I conclude that effective anticipatory and ethical risk assessment may usefully supplement, but cannot replace democratic political judgements on responses to climate change.

Code of Ethics: A Transoral Robotic Surgery Case Study

Robotics is a high technology that integrates various disciplines such as computer engineering, artificial intelligence, mechanics, bionics, and so forth. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, multiple fields such as engineering, medical, computer and Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) are reviewed in order to satisfy the objective that to develop a code of ethics for robotics. For the main outcomes of the paper, a code of ethics that combines multiple fields is produced. In total, there are five essential ethical principles that are outlined in the code of ethics. In addition, the paper also proposes the idea that there can be a concise ethical risk assessment to apply to any robotic product or service in order for any stakeholders to intervene in time to calibrate its ethical value, such that the robotic technology can truly be beneficial to human society.

An Ethical Assessment Tool (ETHAS) to Evaluate the Application of Assisted Reproductive Technologies in Mammals' Conservation: The Case of the Northern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni).

Simple SummaryApplying assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) to the conservation of endangered species may be the only way to save them from extinction. However, ART application can raise relevant ethical issues and could benefit from a comprehensive ethical assessment. Unfortunately, there is a lack of attention to the topic in the scientific literature and, to our knowledge, there is no tool for the ethical assessment of ARTs in the context of conservation that has been described. In the present paper, we show the effects of applying a dedicated ethical self-assessment tool, the Ethical Assessment Tool (ETHAS), to ovum pick-up and in vitro fertilization procedures performed within the BioRescue project. The BioRescue project is an international enterprise using ARTs to save the northern white rhinoceros from extinction. The situation of the northern white rhinoceros is particularly critical as there are only two individuals of this subspecies still alive and they are both infertile females. The application of the ETHAS to the procedures contributed to the overall acceptability of the project and improved communication among the project’s partners. In turn, the tool itself was also refined through an iterative consultation process between experts (both ethicists and scientists) and stakeholders.Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) can make a difference in biodiversity conservation. Their application, however, can create risks and raise ethical issues that need addressing. Unfortunately, there is a lack of attention to the topic in the scientific literature and, to our knowledge, there is no tool for the ethical assessment of ARTs in the context of conservation that has been described. This paper reports the first applications of the Ethical Assessment Tool (ETHAS) to trans-rectal ovum pick-up (OPU) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures used in a northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) conservation project. The ETHAS consists of two checklists, the Ethical Evaluation Sheet and the Ethical Risk Assessment, and is specifically customized for each ART procedure. It provides an integrated, multilevel and standardized self-assessment of the procedure under scrutiny, generating an ethical acceptability ranking (totally, partially, not acceptable) and a risk rank (low, medium, high), and, hence, allows for implementing measures to address or manage issues beforehand. The application of the ETHAS to the procedures performed on the northern white rhinoceros was effective in ensuring a high standard of procedures, contributing to the acceptability and improved communication among the project’s partners. In turn, the tool itself was also refined through an iterative consultation process between experts and stakeholders.

Conceptualisation of an ethical risk assessment for higher education institutions

This article examines an ethical risk assessment conducted in one of South African largest higher education institutions. A statistical analysis of 1 687 respondents participating in the original ethical risk assessment survey was conducted. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a higher order, multidimensional model of three main factors, namely institutional ethical leadership orientation, individual/employee ethical orientation and institutional student-centeredness/orientation. Based on this examination and analysis this three-factor structure provides sufficient evidence of a conceptual ethical framework to be further tested empirically and used within higher education institutions.

Ethical challenges at the science-policy interface: an ethical risk assessment and proposition of an ethical infrastructure

Developing an interface between knowledge holders, stakeholders and decision makers on biodiversity issues, just as any science-policy interface, will face many challenges. In the crucial endeavour to tackle all those challenges, determining an ethical course of actions will be essential to the prestige and credibility of such an interface. The paper identifies and assesses potential ethical risks that may arise in interactions between science, society and policy and uses the Network of Knowledge (NoK) process as an example to show how an ethical infrastructure could be developed for minimizing the ethical risks and their potential consequences. Indeed, when various actors from different spheres (politics, academia, lobbyism, media, etc.) are called upon to interact within one process as complex as the NoK, the integrity and credibility of the latter are at high risk of being compromised if the ethical risks are not adequately addressed. In order to limit those risks, which science-policy interfaces such as IPCC and IPBES have already encountered, we propose to set up an ethical governance infrastructure that will guide (and regulate) interactions among internal actors of the NoK (knowledge coordination body, secretariat, expert working groups, etc.) as well as with external actors (requesters, stakeholders, etc.). A thorough evaluation of the interaction between the actors for every step of the process is carried out and potential ethical risks are identified. Suggestions as to how the risks can be handled and prevented are presented and integrated as part of an ethical infrastructure. The main objective of the paper is to address how a science-policy interface and the scientific community as a whole would benefit from implementing ethical measures and instruments to help prevent sensitive issues and undesired consequences undermining credibility and legitimacy.

Use of Human In Vitro Skin Models for Accurate and Ethical Risk Assessment: Metabolic Considerations

Several human skin models employing primary cells and immortalized cell lines used as monocultures or combined to produce reconstituted 3D skin constructs have been developed. Furthermore, these models have been included in European genotoxicity and sensitization/irritation assay validation projects. In order to help interpret data, Cosmetics Europe (formerly COLIPA) facilitated research projects that measured a variety of defined phase I and II enzyme activities and created a complete proteomic profile of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes (XMEs) in native human skin and compared them with data obtained from a number of in vitro models of human skin. Here, we have summarized our findings on the current knowledge of the metabolic capacity of native human skin and in vitro models and made an overall assessment of the metabolic capacity from gene expression, proteomic expression, and substrate metabolism data. The known low expression and function of phase I enzymes in native whole skin were reflected in the in vitro models. Some XMEs in whole skin were not detected in in vitro models and vice versa, and some major hepatic XMEs such as cytochrome P450-monooxygenases were absent or measured only at very low levels in the skin. Conversely, despite varying mRNA and protein levels of phase II enzymes, functional activity of glutathione S-transferases, N-acetyltransferase 1, and UDP-glucuronosyltransferases were all readily measurable in whole skin and in vitro skin models at activity levels similar to those measured in the liver. These projects have enabled a better understanding of the contribution of XMEs to toxicity endpoints.

Social Work Admissions: Applicants with Criminal Convictions--The Challenge of Ethical Risk Assessment

The decision to admit an ex-offender to social work training may play a part in combating the social exclusion of people who have committed criminal offences, but it may also knowingly place social work service users and carers in positions of increased vulnerability. This paper brings together critical perspectives on both the nature of risk and ethical decision making in the context of social work admissions of applicants with criminal convictions. It locates the concepts of risk and risk assessment within General Social Care Council (GSCC) guidance. The epistemological assumptions underpinning risk assessments are explored and the differences in psychological and sociological approaches to understanding risk are outlined. However, decisions to admit or reject an ex-offender involve ethical and moral judgements. The contribution of ethical thinking to decision making, in relation the admission of ex-offenders, to social work training is described. The paper concludes by suggesting that social work admissions procedures need to be informed by: an explicit epistemological standpoint, transparent risk assessment procedures and clearly articulated ethical thinking.

Ethical modelling of the food supply chain

PurposePublic concerns with issues including animal welfare and environmental management and stewardship have required organisations within the food supply chain to formally demonstrate their commitment to ethical issues. This has led to the development of corporate social responsibility strategies and the use of ethical risk assessment models. The purpose of the study is to review both qualitative and quantitative methods of assessment.Design/methodology/approachThis paper begins with a discussion on ethical issues. This is followed by an evaluation of current mechanisms for determining both scientific‐ and value‐based approaches to ethical food policy.FindingsLegislation defines governmental policy but it does not define what is “good” or “right” and this is the role of ethics. In order to have ethic reasoning embedded in food policy either at governmental or at organisational level, policy makers must be able to understand and evaluate moral arguments, be fair‐minded and make well‐reasoned decisions. Consumers need to trust that both policy makers and those manufacturing and supplying food make decisions and provide information which is accessible, accurate and affords reasoned choice when purchasing food products.Originality/valueThis paper provides a review of ethical methodology and mechanisms for assisting in ethical decision making and will be of interest to academics and to industry.

Ethical risk assessment: valuing public perceptions

Engineers are confronted with an array of moral issues and dilemmas as the complexity modern technology results in equally complex efforts to assess the accompanying environmental and safety risks. The author examines the connections between engineering ethics, risk communication, and the engineering culture. First moral issues in risk assessment are reviewed and the ethical responsibilities of engineers with respect to risk assessment and risk communication are discussed. The conventional model of risk communication, which holds that only experts possess relevant risk information, is then critiqued, and the findings of social scientists and humanists with respect to the dual importance of expert and public risk information are reviewed. Following a discussion of the prevailing engineering culture, particularly as it relates to the problems involved in risk communication, some suggestions are made for transforming the engineering culture in a manner conducive to more meaningful discussion of risk.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>