New Frameworks for Ethical Research Amidst Emerging Digital Technologies, Algorithms, and Privacy Norms

Researchers across fields--including biomedical, behavioral, cognitive, educational, computer, information, and social sciences--use digital technologies recruit human participants, develop interventions, collect and analyze data, and disseminate findings. The technologies include mobile phones, wearable computing, body sensors, tracking apps, and social networking platforms.

Artificial intelligence and other algorithms are embedded in the technologies. Algorithms and models grow, along with personal information that people provide, bringing personalized experiences to daily activities, such as shopping, reading news articles, and watching movies. People’s perceptions about the privacy of their personal information likewise evolve.

The growth of such technologies gives researchers access to more research participants and expanded opportunities to study complex human behaviors unobtrusively, in real-time. However, using these digital technologies to conduct research requires new core concepts of research ethics, such as informed consent, autonomy, and confidentiality. This project will investigate new ethical frameworks for protecting human research participants in response to the digital age and develop resources for the scientific community and the public.

Outcomes will be broadly disseminated to faculty researchers, research staff, students and the community through informational videos, webinars, informational brochures, and guidelines for training platforms. Content will be served through the American Psychological Association’s website, podcasts, blogs, and social media.

The project will support working group activities and a public conference for stimulating computing ethics research addressing: (1) How do current ethical, legal/regulatory, or social issues, either in degree or kind, address (or not address) the use of digital technologies in human research? (2) How have people’s perceptions on sharing personal information changed with the ubiquitous use of digital technologies, and how will this affect the use of digital technology in human research? (3) How has the ubiquitous use of algorithms, including AI, in everyday digital technologies, impacted ethical dimensions of human research? (4) What ethical frameworks can address emerging uses of digital technologies when conducting research with human participants with a variety of technology literacy characteristics and privacy perceptions? The project is expected to generate the following outcomes: (1) white papers outlining ethical, legal, and social issues related to the use of electronic and mobile technologies in research; (2) a set of training guidelines for students and researchers on the conduct of research using such technologies, to be disseminated to regulatory organizations, professional societies and universities; (3) design requirements of training and educational tools; and (4) research plan for a follow-up proposal to evaluate, improve, and support the training agenda.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.