Stephen Rainey

Toward a normative ethics for technology development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to criticise ad hoc approaches to ethics in research and development in technology as descriptive and non‐ethical, and based upon a narrow conception of rationality.Design/methodology/approach – The approach deploys a theory of normativity that can incorporate values and a broad conception of rationality, in order to account for the relevance of issues for the addressees of normative injunctions.Findings – A normative approach is possible and required in order to implement ethics in research and development in technology.Originality/value – The approach draws together themes from current alternative approaches that each fail to deploy the full resources of the normative approach, and so fail to fully account for ethics. This approach identifies and moves beyond present limited approaches.

Managing Ethics in the HBP: A Reflective and Dialogical Approach

Christen and colleagues (2016) reflect on the ethical challenges that arise from simulation-driven big data neuroscience, in particular the Human Brain Project (HBP). Using the structural features ...

Ethical Governance of Emerging Technologies Development

The more integrated technology becomes in our everyday lives and businesses, the more vital it grows that its applications are utilized in an ethical and appropriate way.Ethical Governance of Emerging Technologies Development combines multiple perspectives on ethical backgrounds, theories, and management approaches when implementing new technologies into an environment. Understanding the ethical implications associated with utilizing new advancements in technology is useful for professionals, researchers, and graduate students interested in this growing area of research.

Experience and Consciousness: Concepts from the Outside in

The ‘feel’ of driving a Porsche is unlike that of seeing red (O’Regan, J. Noe, A., 2000). Sensorimotor theory and enactivism hold that looking for mechanisms or something ‘inside the head’ is a mistake in accounting for this. Consciousness does not ‘lie behind’ experience and action, but rather that it is in experience and action. Studying the actions organisms undertake in environments can provide insight into their consciousness and experience. Taking such actions as the locus of study, moreover, can provide greater insight than can studies of mechanisms that drive such interactions. Studying organism-environment interaction in fact provides insight into mechanisms.

The role of ethics in data governance of large neuro-ICT projects

Abstract Objective We describe current practices of ethics-related data governance in large neuro-ICT projects, identify gaps in current practice, and put forward recommendations on how to collaborate ethically in complex regulatory and normative contexts. Methods We undertake a survey of published principles of data governance of large neuro-ICT projects. This grounds an approach to a normative analysis of current data governance approaches. Results Several ethical issues are well covered in the data governance policies of neuro-ICT projects, notably data protection and attribution of work. Projects use a set of similar policies to ensure users behave appropriately. However, many ethical issues are not covered at all. Implementation and enforcement of policies remain vague. Conclusions The data governance policies we investigated indicate that the neuro-ICT research community is currently close-knit and that shared assumptions are reflected in infrastructural aspects. This explains why many ethical issues are not explicitly included in data governance policies at present. With neuro-ICT research growing in scale, scope, and international involvement, these shared assumptions should be made explicit and reflected in data governance.

Improving brain computer interface research through user involvement - The transformative potential of integrating civil society organisations in research projects

Research on Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) often aims to provide solutions for vulnerable populations, such as individuals with diseases, conditions or disabilities that keep them from using traditional interfaces. Such research thereby contributes to the public good. This contribution to the public good corresponds to a broader drive of research and funding policy that focuses on promoting beneficial societal impact. One way of achieving this is to engage with the public. In practical terms this can be done by integrating civil society organisations (CSOs) in research. The open question at the heart of this paper is whether and how such CSO integration can transform the research and contribute to the public good. To answer this question the paper describes five detailed qualitative case studies of research projects including CSOs. The paper finds that transformative impact of CSO integration is possible but by no means assured. It provides recommendations on how transformative impact can be promoted.