Charting Ethical Tensions in Multispecies Technology Research through Beneficiary-Epistemology Space

Steve Benford, Clara Mancini, Alan Chamberlain, Eike Schneiders, Simon Castle-Green, Joel Fischer, Ayse Kucukyilmaz, Guido Salimbeni, Victor Ngo, Pepita Barnard, Matt Adams, Nick Tandavanitj, Ju Row Farr

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference Proceeding (Non-Journal item)

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

While ethical challenges are widely discussed in HCI, far less is reported about the ethical processes that researchers routinely navigate. We reflect on a multispecies project that negotiated an especially complex ethical approval process. Cat Royale was an artist-led exploration of creating an artwork to engage audiences in exploring trust in autonomous systems. The artwork took the form of a robot that played with three cats. Gaining ethical approval required an extensive dialogue with three Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) covering computer science, veterinary science and animal welfare, raising tensions around the welfare of the cats, perceived benefits and appropriate methods, and reputational risk to the University. To reveal these tensions we introduce beneficiary-epistemology space, that makes explicit who benefits from research (humans or animals) and underlying epistemologies. Positioning projects and IRBs in this space can help clarify tensions and highlight opportunities to recruit additional expertise.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCHI 2024 - Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Electronic)9798400703300
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 May 2024
Event2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems, CHI 2024 - Hybrid, Honolulu, United States of America
Duration: 11 May 202416 May 2024

Publication series

NameConference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Conference

Conference2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems, CHI 2024
Country/TerritoryUnited States of America
CityHybrid, Honolulu
Period11 May 202416 May 2024

Keywords

  • Animal Ethics
  • Animal-Computer Interaction
  • Art
  • Artist-led research
  • Epistemology
  • Ethical Review
  • IRB
  • Medical Science
  • Research Ethics
  • Veterinary-Science

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