{"id":48,"date":"2026-09-02T11:16:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T10:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/idsb\/?p=48"},"modified":"2026-09-02T11:19:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T10:19:07","slug":"why-responsible-research-and-innovation-matters-in-ai-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/idsb\/2026\/09\/02\/why-responsible-research-and-innovation-matters-in-ai-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Responsible Research and Innovation matters in AI research"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Bath Institute for Digital Security and Behaviour members Dr <\/span>Sachini Weerawardhana and Dr Emma Walker, and guest author Dr Menisha Patel.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Technology is developing at a rapid pace. AI is everywhere, bringing both risks and opportunities for individuals and society. Whilst this fast pace of development means that we can harness the benefits of such technologies as soon as possible, it can also lead to potential issues, challenges, and unexpected consequences being overlooked.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he <\/span>use of Grok AI to create demeaning images of others following its release<\/span><\/a> is just one example, where the potential harms of such technologies were not adequately considered or addressed before deployment. There is a very current tension between the pace of innovation in the competitive technology landscape and\u00a0the\u00a0appropriate consideration of broader impacts and consequences of development.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We already consider such matters through institutional ethics processes. But is this enough given the potentially wide-ranging, pervasive and increasing risks associated with the use of AI? No. As researchers operating in this space, we need to ensure that this consideration continuously remains integrated within the work that we do, rather than being\u00a0a one-off event. Importantly, we also need to understand the concerns of relevant stakeholders, given the very real life and potentially transformative societal impacts of our research.\u00a0 Therefore, Responsible Research and Innovation (otherwise known as RRI) should very much be\u00a0at the top of the agenda.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, here you are. You have run into RRI. The field that directs us towards a broader and more holistic exploration of our innovation: minimising the negative implications through relevant mitigation procedures, to ensure the positive implications can be maximised and felt by society. Importantly, the research process is extended to actively include the voices and expertise of relevant stakeholders. It is hoped\u00a0that this will create an important alignment between what society desires and our scientific endeavours. Indeed, RRI has become a major focus across the research landscape. All the funders are asking about it on grant applications. You know that it is important and you should do it. But how? What does \u201cdoing RRI\u201d look like in reality?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are looking for a definitive how-to guide, you may be disappointed as there isn\u2019t one. That\u2019s kind of the point - not that it makes for a more straightforward RRI application or helps you know how best you should integrate it into your work. At least, not at first. However, it is an important and deliberate choice that this field remain non-prescriptive, and for very good reason. It needs to avoid becoming a simple \u201ctick box\u201d activity, as has become the fate of so many compliance-related activities, and instead retain a responsive and proactive \u201clens\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean that there aren\u2019t tools out there to help you. Materials continue to be created and designed to aid consideration and the<\/span>\u00a0active application of<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>responsible innovation within the AI research context. Tools range from more conceptual frameworks to tangible prompt cards, for example: <\/span>The AREA 4P Framework<\/span><\/a> provides a useful grid of probing questions related to the key RRI values and research process. The <\/span>RAI UK Prompt and Practice Cards <\/span><\/a>use a more tangible approach as a physical card deck (also available online).\u00a0 The cards, informed by the AREA 4P Framework, allow for a fluid yet context-specific consideration of RRI. There are also organisations and repositories dedicated to RRI guidance and support, including the <\/span>Alan Turing Institute<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Responsible AI Toolkit\u00a0 (Gov.UK)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, it\u2019s clear that there are several tools and\u00a0sources of advice out there, but which ones should you use? Where do you even start? Who do you approach? RRI starts with you developing your own project-specific methods and goals. So, it is worth exploring these various approaches and seeing which you prefer and what the best fit is given your project constraints.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because of this deliberate non-prescriptive approach, meaningful RRI requires commitment, time, and the\u00a0involvement of the right people. Responsible innovation is vital if we are to harness the benefits of AI effectively across society. As researchers, we have both the privilege and the responsibility, of working in this rapidly evolving field. We therefore need to lead the way in understanding, developing, and integrating responsible innovation practices as a cornerstone of our work. And importantly, we also need to recognise that these approaches can be hugely beneficial to the work that we do, and that\u00a0we are more likely to develop research outcomes that are acceptable, desirable and ultimately more successful.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Bath Institute for Digital Security and Behaviour members Dr Sachini Weerawardhana and Dr Emma Walker, and guest author Dr Menisha Patel.\u00a0 Technology is developing at a rapid pace. AI is everywhere, bringing both risks and opportunities for individuals and...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2077,"featured_media":49,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artificial-intelligence","category-digital-technologies"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/idsb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/239\/2026\/09\/People_Abstract.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/idsb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/idsb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/idsb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/idsb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2077"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/idsb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/idsb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/idsb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/idsb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/idsb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/idsb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}