RESEARCH STUDY PARTICIPANT INFORMATION
INTERSECTIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND HARM: A STUDY WITH AI RESEARCHERS
We are a research team based at the Knowledge Media Institute (KMi) at The Open University, United Kingdom. Our research focuses on the social and pedagogical challenges in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its subfields.
You are invited to take part in a research study on how AI researchers understand and conceptualise the potential impact of their work on society. Before you decide whether to take part, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully. Dr Venetia Brown is leading the research. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at venetia.brown@open.ac.uk; Tel: +44 (0)1908 653451 or our alternative, independent contact soraya.kouadri@open.ac.uk; Tel: +44 (0)1908 659337.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY?
The purpose of this study is to understand how AI researchers conceptualise the potential ‘harm’ and ‘benefits’ of their work and its impact on society and culture. By AI researchers, we refer to those working on the development or understanding of AI. We are interested in comparing the experiences of those raised and educated in North American and Western European contexts with those who were not. The study is being run by a research team at the Knowledge Media Institute (KMi), The Open University, UK and is funded by the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship.
We will use interviews as our primary method of data collection to explore the opinions, experiences, and perspectives of AI researchers. You have been sent this information as you are an AI researcher involved in AI-related technologies and activities in a non-western context. The study will run until July 2024.
The study is being conducted by Dr Venetia Brown, Dr Retno Larasati and Dr Tracie Farrell. This research project has been reviewed by and received a favourable opinion, from The Open University Human Research Ethics Committee – HREC reference number: 4636
WHAT WILL I BE ASKED TO DO IF I AGREE TO TAKE PART?
If you agree to take part, we will ask you to participate in an individual interview that will last an hour. The interview will be conducted either online via Microsoft Teams or in person at The Open University at a time and date that is convenient to you. If you would be more comfortable talking to a researcher who is not White or not from a Western European or North American country, this can be arranged. The interview will be audio-recorded for the purpose of note-taking and transcribing, and we will ask your permission to record before the discussion. Any personal information used from the discussion will be fully pseudonymised. We might quote some of your responses in the research, and you will be given a choice on the type of responses that could be used. To maintain confidentiality, participants will be given the option to specify portions of their data that should stay confidential.
It is up to you to decide whether to take part. If you do decide to take part, you will be given this information sheet to keep and be asked to sign a consent form. To compensate for your time, you will receive a gift voucher of your choice for the value of 25£ for a one-hour interview. Participants can choose a voucher that will be appropriate in their home country or according to their own ethical principles. Your input will help develop a better understanding of the experiences of AI researchers and further our understanding of the nuances of world-systems thinking around ‘harm’ and ‘benefit.
HOW WILL THE DATA I PROVIDE BE USED?
Any information you provide will be treated in the strictest confidence. All research data from interviews will be managed in accordance with in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act (1998) and will be treated in the strictest confidence and the Open University’s requirements. The data will be stored on the Open University’s secure server, and all files and email communications will be encrypted. Audio recordings will be destroyed once fully transcribed. The data will be held for the duration of the study and stored one year after the end of the project (i.e., Feb 2025). No personal identifying information will be used, and quotes will be pseudonymised and paraphrased where necessary. Signed consent forms will be encrypted and stored on secure servers for the duration of the project. Research findings may be disseminated through internal and external educational conferences and publications. All data will be pseudonymised, as mentioned above to ensure confidentially. After the interview, participants can specify what portions of their data or responses should stay confidential by completing a post-interview consent form and returning it back. If participants would like to be informed of the project outcomes, they can contact venetia.brown@open.ac.uk for a summary of the data.
YOUR RIGHT TO WITHDRAW FROM THE STUDY
You have the right to withdraw from the study at any time during your participation by leaving the interview session or writing to the principal investigator, Dr Venetia Brown at venetia.brown@open.ac.uk.You have the right to ask for your data to be removed after your participation in the study by contacting venetia.brown@open.ac.uk or Tel: +44 (0)1908 653451 up until the time all data have been aggregated for analysis. You can withdraw anytime until the 31 August 2024 after which withdrawal is impossible.
HOW DO I AGREE TO TAKE PART?
If you would like to participate, please tick the boxes to opt-in for the study on the Informed Consent form and email a copy to venetia.brown@open.ac.uk as soon as possible. We will then schedule a date/time that is convenient.
THANK YOU
Thank you for taking the time to read this leaflet and please remember to keep a copy if you should decide to take part.
DATA PROTECTION
The Open University is the Data Controller for the personal data that you provide. There are no other joint data controllers.
The lawful reason for processing your data will be that conducting academic research is part of The Open University’s public task. (The consent we request from you relates to ethical considerations).
We share the audio recording of the interview you provided with an OU-approved transcription agency under agreed contracts for confidentiality. The lawful reason for these transfers is that it is part of our public task to conduct academic research [and/ or] Where we use a third party to provide a service, it is in our legitimate interest to manage our operations effectively. They will only be given personal data to carry out a specific activity, and we have contractual arrangements to safeguard their use of your personal data.
You have several rights as a data subject:
To request a copy of the personal data we have about you
To rectify any personal data which is inaccurate or incomplete
To restrict the processing of your data
To receive a copy of your data in an easily transferrable format (if relevant)
To erase your data
To object to us processing your data
If you are concerned about the way we have processed your personal information, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Please visit the ICO’s website for further details.