SMLL exists to trial solutions. These trials must include and be guided by a robust ethical framework.
That’s what our Ethics Board is for. It oversees every trial that takes place in London’s SMLL, setting criteria to help assess the ethical implications. Safety, security and privacy for participants are some of the key considerations. The Ethics Board makes sure that trials are properly designed to be safe and to achieve their aims.
Who is on the Ethics Board?
The Ethics Board has independent oversight of trials conducted by SMLL. This independence is reflected in its makeup: while SMLL is represented on the Board, it doesn’t control it.
The SMLL Ethics Board includes people who represent a full range of expertise spanning technology, ethics, anthropology, and research design.
What the Ethics Board does
The Ethics Board monitors every trial that takes place at SMLL.
Each new trial will have a set of criteria that help the Board assess the ethical implications of the project being undertaken.
For simple trials there may be few or no ethical considerations – measuring patterns of bus usage to inform timetabling, for example. But testing a driverless car on public roads, for instance, involves far greater risk, so will need detailed ethical consideration.
The Board assesses every trial according to these key principles:
The trial is soundly designed with regards to what it sets out to achieve
It includes an assessment of the burden it places on participants
It introduces absolutely no increased risk of harm to members of the public
There is true avoidance of deception - everyone involved in the trial is both aware and willing
Why the Ethics Board review process matters
The review process upholds the ethical principles laid out by the Ethics Board: safety, privacy and security in particular are paramount. The process also makes sure all trials are designed to be as safe as they can be, and still successful in achieving what they set out to do too.
Quantifying the impact of technologies that don’t exist yet is difficult. But that doesn’t mean we should shy away from it. The SMLL Ethics Board has a vital role to play.
Whatever journeys SMLL trials take us on, our ethical approach reduces risk and with it the possibility of negative publicity. This will help to build consumer confidence and excitement about the possibilities ahead.
