Since the inception of the AoIR ethics guidelines, several adaptations have been made to accommodate emerging technological advancements and evolving research contexts (Ess, 2002; Markham & Buchanan, 2012; franzke et al. 2019; Zimmer, 2022). These advancements have incorporated important values of context sensitivity, cross-cultural awareness and research phase sensitivity into the guidelines, during a period in which internet-related technologies grew in prominence and research significance. More recently, internet researchers have faced new challenges stemming from the rise of generative artificial intelligence platforms, reduced access to data through more restrictive content-sharing/API policies, open hostility towards research on particular topics and communities, and threats of harm to researchers themselves. Such events require renewed discussion on how to strengthen and adapt the AoIR ethics guidelines to meet this developing environment.
In addition, more and more disciplines outside AoIR’s traditional communities rely on data and methods that would benefit from AoIR’s ethics guidance but are hindered by the inability to best apply our guidelines within their field. Meanwhile, new regulatory frameworks for research have fostered expanded implementations of the AoIR ethics guidelines, along with some disturbing reports of ‘ethics washing.’
To foster further dialogue and action on the future directions for the AoIR ethics guidelines–both in terms of content as well as how to disseminate to broader communities–the AoIR Ethics Working Group proposes this half-day pre-conference workshop to bring together all interested members of the AoIR community to discuss and organize how this work might be carried out.
The goals of this workshop will be to consider how the various AoIR ethics documents have been put into practice, to identify existing gaps and limitations, and to create an action plan for developing the next iteration of ethical guidance. In addition, this workshop will also contemplate the format of future guidelines, for example, whether they should be static documents, interactive decision-support tools, accompanied by instructional videos or case studies, and so on. We will consider the development of an outreach plan and accompanying materials. Modes of sharing resources related to teaching ethical approaches to the research and use of emerging technologies will also be discussed.
To facilitate the goals of the session, three distinct workshop blocks will be planned. The first block will include a general discussion of the existing AoIR ethical guidance and its adequacy to meet the needs of today’s research environment. Time permitting, this discussion will also include a brainstorming segment on the research challenges that participants are currently facing. The second workshop block will include a strategy session to deliberate and develop a plan to address how the guidelines might be further adapted to incorporate the emergence of artificial intelligence technologies as they are used in research praxis. The third workshop block will have a tactical focus, developing priorities for a new iteration of the AoIR ethics guidelines, development of an outreach plan along with accompanying materials, and the identification of any additional extensions requiring development or elaboration. The primary outcome of this workshop will be an action plan for the next iteration of the AoIR ethics guidelines.
Participants: The AoIR Ethics Working Committee will work to recruit participants from the entire AoIR community.
Format: half-day workshop (afternoon)
