The Making of Responsible Innovation and Technology: An Overview and Framework

Abstract

In an era in which technological advancements have a profound impact on our cities and societies, it is crucial to ensure that digital technology is not only driven by technological progress with economic goals but that it can also fulfill moral and social responsibilities. Hence, it is needed to advocate for ‘Responsible Innovation and Technology’ (RIT) to ensure cities and societies can harness the potential of technological progress and prosperity while safeguarding the well-being of individuals and communities. This study conducts a PRISMA review to explore and understand RIT concepts and its characteristics. In this study, we emphasize that RIT should deliver acceptable, accessible, trustworthy, and well governed technological outcomes, while ensuring these outcomes are aligned with societal desirability and human values, and should also be responsibly integrated into our cities and societies. The main contribution of this study is to identify and clarify the key characteristics of RIT, which has not been performed in such detail so far. The study, reported in this paper, also broadens the understanding of responsible research and innovation in the technosphere, particularly from a bottom-up perspective. Furthermore, the paper develops an RIT conceptual framework outlining its possible design procedures, which could be used by governments, companies, practitioners, researchers, and other stakeholders as a tool to address the grand challenges that accompany technological and scientific progress. The framework also informs science, technology, and innovation policy.

Mining Sector in South Africa: An Individual Perception on Open Strategy

“…To improve efficiency and knowledge sharing, south African mining sector should be using an open approach for strategic planning [19], fostering common responsibility and collaboration [2], [15]. Bottom-up productivity planning promotes an inclusive process by assuring openness and responsibility [16], as well as encouraging trust and collaboration at all levels [17]. Transforming the organizational structure and environment, creating trust and commitment through a commitment-driven approach [18], maintaining transparency, minimizing micromanagement, and encouraging a participative culture are all part of the plan [3].…”

Tech Giants’ Responsible Innovation and Technology Strategy: An International Policy Review

“…On this basis, Li et al [22] (p. 1) further identified the key characteristics of RIT from an academic perspective, which they defined as 'acceptable', 'accessible', 'aligned', 'trustworthy', and 'well governed'. The authors emphasised that "RIT should deliver acceptable, accessible, trustworthy, and well governed technological outcomes, while ensuring these outcomes are aligned with societal desirability and human values and should also be responsibly integrated into our cities and societies".…”

“…After identifying companies that have directly included RIT-related documents on their websites, we downloaded and saved all the documents (n = 26) that were highly relevant to our research objectives from their official websites and uploaded them to NVivo. To accurately address the research question, we established five nodes (acceptability goals, accessibility goals, alignment goals, trustworthiness goals, and well-governance goals) and fifteen sub-nodes drawing from Li et al [22], who conducted a specific analysis of the corporate's RIT guidelines. In addition, to ensure the conceptual framework developed by Li et al [22] is suitable for this study, we made necessary improvements to the node establishment work, e.g., modifying titles and keywords and clarifying specific content categories.…”

“…Amid growing concerns regarding aligning technological achievements with societal needs, the dialogue around 'responsible innovation and technology' (RIT) has gained increasing attention recently [16][17][18]. Such dialogue emphasises that modern innovation practice should deliver responsible technological outcomes and ensure these outcomes can be rationally integrated into our cities and societies, thereby mitigating potential repercussions of contemporary technological leaps [19][20][21][22]. As the major actors in innovation practices, technology companies, especially those with global influence, find themselves at the nexus of this transformative dialogue [23,24].…”

Navigating the Legal Complexities of Artificial Intelligence in Global Trade Agreements

“…Through a thorough exploration of the legal challenges posed by AI in global trade agreements, this study aims to contribute to the advancement of policy discussions and decision-making processes. By offering actionable recommendations and guidelines for policymakers, businesses, and other stakeholders, it endeavors to promote coherence, transparency, and adaptability in the regulation and governance of AI-driven international trade (Li, et al, 2023;Rajagopal, et al, 2022;Oguejiofor, et al, 2023). In summary, this study seeks to illuminate the complex interplay between AI and global trade agreements, emphasizing the critical imperative of addressing legal complexities to ensure the continued prosperity and sustainability of international trade in the era of artificial intelligence.…”