irecs D2.3: Recommendations to address ethical challenges from technology research outside the EU
Record type:
irecs is a Horizon Europe project tackling the ethical challenges of research in new technologies. It aims to reinforce the reliability of science by advancing research ethics expertise and competencies. Its goal is to improve the understanding of research ethics in Europe (and beyond) and provide interactive and sustainable training programmes for research ethics committees.
The project focuses on 4 emerging technologies (AI in health and healthcare; Extended reality; Genome editing; Biobanking) and develops, implements and disseminates training material for research ethics reviewers and early career researchers.
This report deals with ethics review processes that take place outside of Europe. Taking into consideration that new and emerging technologies are basically stateless, have a global impact, and create strong interdependencies amongst nation states around the world, it is imperative to provide a view on ethics beyond the limited bounds of Europe.
As part of WP2 that looks at ethical challenges of new technologies and ethics review processes in Europe, the report builds upon this work and expands the discussion to include perspectives from outside the European continent via quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interviews) methodologies. Based on previous research that identifies the main values and norms that influence the incorporation of ethics in official Science & Technology decision making around the world, we hereby offer a thorough analysis of ethical challenges that non-European ethics review processes are faced with. Particular attention is paid on non-European cultures represented in the project, namely those of Africa and China. Finally, recommendations on how to approach international collaborations on ethics is provided.