Project Principal Investigator(s): Prof. Amit Prakash

The overall objective is to arrive at a contextually adaptable policy framework to evaluate the ethical concerns of IoT/AI interventions. The current work is focused on the domains of healthcare and education. We rely on a complex adaptive systems perspective, a socio-technical approach, to theoretically ground the ethical assessment framework. We examine a range of broader ethical issues, such as justice and equity, fairness, consent and trust, and dignity of life and work, all of which are highly pertinent to data-driven IoT and AI intervention strategies.

In the first year of this project, our focus was on the urban governance in the context of smart cities. We have developed a framework along the four ethical dimensions and three important roles played by the authorities – executive, legislative, and standard setting . Through a workshop held at IIITB, industry professionals wetted the framework. The operationalised framework makes it possible for decision-makers to assess each IoT intervention and guarantees that all pertinent agents involved in providing a certain service are recognised. This will also allow authorities to assess any possible effects that the IoT intervention may have on these agents. In the healthcare domain, we have created a risk and accountability assessment matrix for IoT/AI applications. Through a deeper contextual engagement with relevant stakeholders, we are in the process of collecting necessary data that can help us to formulate a robust framework for value-sensitive and morally just IoT/AI interventions for service sectors like healthcare and education.

Publication Link : https://ciet.iiitb.net/publications/