The Responsible Technology Institute acts as an umbrella organisation for several research projects – the common theme that links them all is a concern for the social impact of technology. We and our visiting research fellows investigate this in many fields of research and in many different applications.
Current projects:
ResQCCom: Responsible Quantum Computing Communications
The ResQCCom project is funded by the Quantum Computing and Simulation (QCS) Hub at Oxford and is a research collaboration with EY. Carolyn Ten Holter leads the work on the project, assisted by Dr Philip Inglesant.
Minderoo: Unlocking the potential for community decision-making on technology future
The goal of the project is to launch a community lab to develop community decision-making processes about Artificial Intelligence. The community lab will be based at the Upper Norwood Library Hub (UNLH) in South London. The community lab will host five sessions during 2023, each focused on one facet of AI, led by experts from the RTI and ORBIT-RRI Ltd. Dr Pericle Salvini leads the project and Dr Philip Inglesant is managing the engagement activity.
Minderoo: Unlocking the potential for community decision-making on technology future
RAILS: Responsible AI for Long-term Trustworthy Autonomous Systems
The RAILS project within the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub draws together a team from York, Leeds, UCL, and Oxford to look at the challenge of change in autonomous systems. Its starting point is the understanding that autonomous systems do not exist in stasis – they are frequently designed for dynamic environments, and may also be designed to change themselves over time. RAILS tackles the challenges associated with the long-term operation of autonomous systems. Dr Lars Kunze is PI on the project and Carolyn Ten Holter is a Research Associate.
RAILS: Responsible AI for long-term trustworthy autonomous systems
RoboTIPS: Responsible Robotics for the Digital Economy
RoboTIPS is seeking to develop an approach that aims to anticipate not only the positive outcomes but also the potentially negative consequences of technological innovations for society. In particular it focuses on the domain of social robots, and ways in which accidents involving them can be investigated. The five-year project is an EPSRC Established Career Digital Economy Fellowship awarded to Professor Marina Jirotka. Dr Pericle Salvini is Senior Researcher on the project and Keri Grieman is a Research Associate.
RoboTIPS: Developing Responsible Robots for the Digital Economy
PARIS-DE: Design Principles and Responsible Innovation for a Sustainable Digital Economy
Led by Lancaster University, the PARIS-DE project investigates the carbon footprint of digital technologies and seeks to create a design framework for innovation that helps to ensure they are compliant by design with the Paris Climate Agreement. Professor Marina Jirotka co-leads the impact work, while Lucas Somavilla is Research Associate and Carolyn Ten Holter is an affiliate researcher. PARIS-DE is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
PARIS-DE: Design Principles and Responsible Innovation for a Sustainable Digital Economy
AMHDM: Adolescence, Mental Health and the Developing Mind
Led by Nottingham University, this project will work on increasing understanding of the relationship between digital risks, resilience and adolescent mental health, and developing and evaluating preventative and personalised digital interventions. Professor Marina Jirotka will support the responsible innovation aspects of the project, which is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC).
AMHDM: Adolescence, Mental Health and the Developing Mind
Completed projects:
RoAD: Responsible AV Data
RoAD has three objectives: to evaluate the usefulness of datasets collected in case of a legal investigation and their impact on fostering a “no-blame” safety culture; to analyse the ethical risks and legal implications related to the collection, access and use of data retrieved from black boxes; and to evaluate public acceptance of and trust on the recording capabilities of black boxes not just with respect to recalling capabilities, but also with respect to potential ethical risks related to their deployment (ie privacy). Professor Marina Jirotka leads the project and will co-lead the ethical and legal analysis of AV data recorders. Dr Pericle Salvini and Dr Lars Kunze lead the work on the scenario-based requirements analysis data collection. RoAD is funded by a pump-priming grant from the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems (TAS) Hub.
NQIT-RRI: Responsible Research and Innovation in Networked Quantum IT – Impact Study
The inital NQIT-RRI project was part of the Networked Quantum Information hub (now taken forward as the QCS Hub) – part of the UK’s quantum technologies programme. The RRI team worked with researchers to expand understanding of responsible research and innovation within quantum computing. This project was developed as an impact study that looked at the rollout of responsible research and innovation techniques within quantum computing and the current state of the art. The project was funded by the University of Oxford.
NQIT-RRI IAA: Responsible Research and Innovation in Networked Quantum IT – Impact Study