Assess research outcomes

The outcome of research is knowledge which can take many forms and be used in unexpected ways. At KTH, in particular, research outcomes are often items or systems that may significantly form and be part of future society. Such flexibility and usefulness underline the importance of academic research, but it also means that there are ethical aspects to consider and, at the very least, articulate concerning one's research outcomes. Risks may be more directly obvious or rather indirect and vaguely affected by global politics.

Magnus Boman is professor of intelligent software services. He has encountered problems of fairness and inclusivity when developing AI-systems. This is how he approaches and articulates such ethical aspects.

Another kind of ethics problems with research outcomes involves orienting your research on an arena of constantly changing global politics. Technology research and development may have an unintentional, but still potentially significant destructive force. This typically happens within research on nuclear power and aeronautics, but may also unexpectedly take place within, for example, material sciences or electronics. Awareness and articulation of the risks involved in such technology are the first steps toward approaching the ethics.

Such dual-use items are also associated with strict legal requirements concerning international exchanges. Fredrik Karlsson (ethics officer and export control officer) briefs on the dual-use-problem.

Staff working within environments where dual-use items are developed or used need awareness of export control regulation. Pär Olsson, professor of physics, shares some advise on how to prepare for and handle international exchanges of dual-use items.

 

For support on dual-use issues, please consult the KTH export control webpage or contact exportcontrol@kth.se.

 

* Technology inherently has uses that raise moral or legal concerns. Please use the available support on export control to handle the legal issues. *

 

This is the last module on assessing the research process. Next module is on the legally regulated ethics review procedure.