EthicAlly: a Prototype for AI-Powered Research Ethics Support for the Social Sciences and Humanities
This addresses the gap in ethics compliance support for social science and humanities researchers, particularly in underserved regions, though it is incremental as it does not replace human oversight.
The paper tackles the lack of tailored ethics support for social science and humanities research by proposing EthicAlly, a proof-of-concept AI prototype that provides structured ethics assessment to assist researchers in ethical design and REC preparation.
In biomedical science, review by a Research Ethics Committee (REC) is an indispensable way of protecting human subjects from harm. However, in social science and the humanities, mandatory ethics compliance has long been met with scepticism as biomedical models of ethics can map poorly onto methodologies involving complex socio-political and cultural considerations. As a result, tailored ethics training and support as well as access to RECs with the necessary expertise is lacking in some areas, including parts of Europe and low- and middle-income countries. This paper suggests that Generative AI can meaningfully contribute to closing these gaps, illustrating this claim by presenting EthicAlly, a proof-of-concept prototype for an AI-powered ethics support system for social science and humanities researchers. Drawing on constitutional AI technology and a collaborative prompt development methodology, EthicAlly provides structured ethics assessment that incorporates both universal ethics principles and contextual and interpretive considerations relevant to most social science research. In supporting researchers in ethical research design and preparation for REC submission, this kind of system can also contribute to easing the burden on institutional RECs, without attempting to automate or replace human ethical oversight.