Ethics Screening Tool

About This Tool

Ethics screening is a project management instrument used to identify priority ethical considerations associated with a project that may need to be addressed and reviewed actively during the development of a project. Here, we organize ethical considerations by project category.

To use this tool for CompRobo, groups are encouraged to review and select the relevant issues based on their proposed work to develop their own customized project ethics guidelines. Not all issues on this list may be appropriate for the project selected. Some issues may be in conflict with one another. And some issues that may be relevant might be missing. We encourage groups to be creative, thoughtful, and thorough when identifying ethical issues for their project guidelines.

Developing Your Ethical Guidelines

Using this screen as a tool, you will develop a list of ethical issues that you have flagged for your project. In your Ethical Guidelines document, please list each of these issues, and outline a specific plan for how you plan to address these in your work. Some examples include:

  • If working on a team, developing a team contract that addresses issues under “Team Context”
  • If you’re developing a project that utilizes streaming video or imagery, you may consider issues related to filming by-standers, and developing a plan for gaining consent, purging data, creating secure storage, etc.
  • If you’re making a website describing your project, consider how you will address benefits and harms transparently.
  • For all projects, you may consider how you know your robot works as intended, and develop a set of unit tests that map to issues identified in this screening tool.

There is no hard rule for the number of issues you should flag, but there is never none. Carefully consider your technical and contextual elements of your projects when assembling your guidelines. If you are struggling to identify authentic elements, then perhaps this is a signal to revise your proposed technical and contextual contributions.

Ethical Issues by Project Category

Team Context

  • The team is facilitating the psychological safety (team health) whereby members feel they can bring up concerns or objections even if doing so could negatively impact the project.
  • The team feels it exists within a supportive environment to raise concerns or objectives regarding the setup and framing of the project by a controlling authority.
  • The team is aware of and has addressed their blind spots in culture or lived experience relative to the project context or approach that could have consequences for the project.
  • The team is aware of and has addressed their assumptions or biases that could have consequences for the project.
  • Team members are free of conflicts of interest.
  • Biases in processes, models, algorithms, or data are recognized and addressed.

Intended Benefits

  • The intended benefits and beneficiaries are articulated and known to the whole team.
  • A method for determining if the intended benefits will or would be achieved is operationalized.
  • The unintended consequences or harms and affected parties have been considered and addressed.
  • The vulnerabilities or limitations and affected parties have been considered and addressed.
  • Safety risks are identified and addressed.

System Design

  • Biases in components, such as processes, models, algorithms, or data are recognized and addressed.
  • The system does not amplify existing biases against a particular group.
  • Potential to maintain or increase inequality or insecurity for affected parties is recognized and addressed (especially health, labor, food, housing, or economic factors).
  • Potential to maintain or increase environmental impact is recognized and addressed (especially for vulnerable species or ecosystems).
  • Users of the system can control their privacy and safety.
  • The team and project practices follow relevant ethical, implementation, performance, or safety standards.
  • The team and project practices follow legal standards.
  • The team and project practices follow community norms and expectations.

Implementation and Verification

  • The team is aware of and manages its efforts and scope to implement an effective system, especially balancing new features with better performance.
  • Mechanisms are established to routinely audit the intended and acceptable performance of the systems implemented or to be implemented.
  • Performance audits are made available for scrutiny.
  • Adequate security is implemented to protect information about and from participants in a project or demonstration.
  • Adequate security is implemented for users and implementers of the system, especially as it relates to sensitive information for relavant parties, especially confidentiality.
  • Ethical dilemmas are identified as soon as possible and addressed.
  • Failures in processes, procedures, models, or algorithms are or could be addressed in a timely manner.

Transparency/Disclosure

  • Acceptable or allowed use of the project outcomes is defined and shared.
  • Permission is obtained to use materials owned by others in the project.
  • Intended benefits, unintended harms, vulnerabilities, and limitations are agreeable to or tolerable for relevant parties.
  • Participants or users of the project are informed of the risks and benefits of the project.
  • Advertised features and performance are consistent with the actual system implementation.
  • The project is documented adequately to assist in establishing responsibility, intent, and causality if something should go wrong.
  • All findings, including negative results and uncertainties, are reported.

Additional

  • The team seeks our and considers ethical guidelines appropriate to the disciplinary and application area of the project.
  • The team adds additional considerations to their guidelines as needed.