The Ethical Dimension of Collaboration Professor Simon Rogerson Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility De Montfort University, UK

Simon Rogerson, 2007 ICT potential  self-learning and adapting systems  human activity recognition  tracking technologies and sensors  sharing of contextual information between different services and objects  supplementing human faculties  virtual community technologies  quality of life and inclusion

Simon Rogerson, 2007 FP7 context  research activities supported by the Framework Programme should respect fundamental ethical principles Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union opinions of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE)  any proposal which contravenes fundamental ethical principles shall not be selected and may be excluded from the evaluation, selection and award procedures at any time

Simon Rogerson, 2007 Due regard  explicitly address ethical concerns the research its conduct its outcomes  ethical issues beyond the obvious must be addressed likely that new, sensitive applications will come to the fore unique set of ethical issues for eye tracking technology and application  specific tasks or specific work package

Simon Rogerson, 2007 Privacy  right to privacy and data protection is a fundamental right  Europeans view personal privacy as an important issue  compliance with Data Protection legislation  research volunteers have the right to remain anonymous  manner in which research outcomes are reported must not contravene the right to privacy and data protection  must carefully evaluate and report the personal privacy implications of the intended use or potential use of the research outcomes  volunteers (conduct) and beneficiaries (outcome)

Simon Rogerson, 2007 Informed consent  whenever research involves volunteers in interviews, behavioural observation, invasive and non-invasive experimentation, and accessing personal data records  empowers the individual to make a voluntary informed decision about whether or not to participate in the research based on knowledge of the purpose, procedures and outcomes of the research  information must be given specifying the alternatives, risks, and benefits for those involved in a way they understand.  right to withdraw consent at any time and, if requested, associated data destroyed  special consideration must be given when volunteers have reduced autonomy or are vulnerable

Simon Rogerson, 2007 Attentive Interfaces and Reacting to Intent (COGAIN 2006)  Gaze-based Attentive User Interfaces (AUIs) to support disabled users: towards a research agenda interacting with objects in the real world by looking at them directly rather making real-world objects gaze aware

Simon Rogerson, 2007 The ethics  Doing the research Representative volunteers Informed consent of those with incapacity of making decisions Nature of non-invasive trials Trial results data security  Nature of the application Human helper emulation and machine inferences Constant monitoring: local and distributed Fail safe Attitude / feeling of user Choice

Simon Rogerson, 2007 An approach to addressing the ethical dimension  Work Package which spans the life of the project.  Start of Project Review Undertake a thorough review of the potential ethical and social impact of the project culminating in a Project Ethics Agenda which will guide both the substance and conduct of the research throughout the life of the project  Intermediate Review(s) Review the project components and identify potential ethical issues regarding both the project process and the anticipated project outcomes  End of Project Review Review the project outcomes to identify any inherent positive and negative ethical effects

Simon Rogerson, 2007 “The rapid pace of scientific and technological progress can give rise to serious ethical questions of concern to all Europeans. These questions may also have potential implications for future generations.” Science and Society Action Plan European Commission, 2002 Responsible research

Simon Rogerson, 2007 Additional Information on Ethics related to undertaking ICT research in FP7