Responsible Research: My week at the University of Nottingham

By Lexine Glover

During my work experience week at the University of Nottingham, I had the privilege of shadowing Professor Elvira Perez Vallejos. This introduced me to the concept of responsible research and innovation (RRI), and I explored its importance in the context of digital technology and the rise of AI. Initially I was unsure on how this could benefit me, as my pathway is more science and health oriented, however throughout my time I learnt the importance of ensuring research minimises negative ethical, social and economic effects, utilising the AREA-4P framework as a tool for acknowledging and working to avert such harmful things, and striving to avoid research bias which can harmfully impact minority and marginalised groups. These are all things that I realise apply not just to science/health, but all aspects of research.

My first day consisted of a CDT workshop, in which Professor Elvira Perez Vallejos and Professor Bernd Stahl discussed how the PhD students could implement RRI into their NetZero oriented research projects to recognise the long-term effects of their work and ensure their research is socially acceptable and sustainable. The AREA-4P framework is a tool for embedding RRI principles into a project with AREA (Anticipate, Reflect, Engage, Act) as steps to effectuate RRI, and 4P (Process, Product, People, Purpose) considers the individuals, environment and other socio-economic aspects that may be directly or indirectly affected as a result of a research project, ultimately forming 16 aspects of RRI that need to be appreciated. The organisation UKRI champions this tool and this was visible in the workshop as the students and I used cards with prompts as a resource for having insightful and reflective discussions into their proposed projects.

On another date I was fortunate enough to accompany Professor Perez to the Responsible AI: Women & Healthcare conference, where I could see responsible research applied to a real-life situation that affects the women around us. It is prevalent that whilst developing AI systems to assist the healthcare industry (diagnosing treatments, prescribing drugs, recording symptoms etc), there are biases within the AI infrastructure that detrimentally impact women leading to injustice within the health sector. Whilst RRI cannot predict the future, it allows for positive steps to take accountability for mistakes of the past and potential future errors, ensuring researchers, designers, innovators reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of a project (or a tool) and stimulate a better-informed conversation about how to solve it. This is applicable to the health of Women as RRI can better technology to aid, inform and stimulate better technology that provides the appropriate care required.

In summary, RRI is a concept that needs to be amplified more, as it is beneficial for all of society and allows researchers to make a more positive impact on society through deconstructing social biases & actively rethinking their methods of innovation, and society to experience the benefits of projects targeted to advance and aid our world. Though I learnt it through an IT perspective, RRI & the employment of the AREA-4P framework can be applied to so many subsectors of research, from healthcare to hospitality to the justice system, ultimately helping better our society for good.