Ethics of technology and science --Chapter 4: Handling of research materials Group 2 Patrice Godonou, Magnus Hedlund, Jun Luo, Per Ribbing, Simon Thomas Seminar I: 10th of november 2016.

Describe data - how precise it is - can even distinguish individual plates on the stove merely by ocular inspection. Collected by grid owner, received from contact at Vattenfall Corporate Research.

Our group @ UU publishes some study based on data Scenario Our group @ UU publishes some study based on data In our publication, only aggregated data is presented. No real ethical problems. Straightforward enough. (Q2)

Scenario Our group @ UU publishes some study based on data Some master student from KTH asks for the data. “The Swedish Research Council does not support secret research. “ - We should share the data in the name of transparency. Formally, it’s not the research group’s data - it’s supposed to be stored by the Swedish National Archives. Anonymization as an alternative? (Q3)

Scenario Our group @ UU publishes some study based on data Some master student from KTH asks for the data. Reason: Solar cells in distr. grid with realistic consumption patterns. The data is compared against solar irradiance based on location. Anonymizing the data thus reduces its value a lot. We decide to give it away in the name of openness and transparency.

Scenario Our group @ UU publishes some study based on data Some master student from KTH asks for the data. Reason: Solar cells in distr. grid with realistic consumption patterns. The data is compared against solar irradiance based on location. It turns out the student was funded by Bosch Some rhetorical question to audience, then quickly to next slide.

Scenario Our group @ UU publishes some study based on data Someone at Bosch now wants the data for targeted ads, promoting new, more efficient washing machines Some master student from KTH asks for the data. Reason: Solar cells in distr. grid with realistic consumption patterns. The data is compared against solar irradiance based on location. It turns out the student was funded by Bosch Q4,Q6: Pros: Good for Bosch. Good for the environment in the long run, due to more efficient machines? Good for science in renewable energy grid integration. Cons: More metals used, people may be discarding washing machines prematurely. People getting nagged by Bosch targeted advertisement. Data leaking even further? Q5: Values: People might get suspicious of smart meters (compare with ads on the net and adblock). Q7: Idea 1: Anonymize the data before giving it the master student. But this is costly ⇔ less time for publications and writing grant proposals. Idea 2: Allow people to opt-out before recieving data from Vattenfall in the first place. Being to pessimistic in opt-out message however, may lead to almost no participants => making the data less relevant.

Our decision: We are a public funded organization and are by law required to share data. Participant had been informed before the data was captured. We also guaranteed to follow the law and use the data only for scientific purposes. We share the data, but demanding the researching to follow the rules and relative standards.

1. Will there be any ethical problems or conflicts in the context, in the organisation or in the group where your decision will be applied or your solution will be used (e.g. your research findings)? No ethical conflicts in group or in our organization. 2. Will your decision or solution cause any ethical problems or conflicts? Pro share: We will all benefit if the people buy energy efficient devices because of the ads brought by the company; we gain from the research of the university. Contra share: Person can be identified due to the data if published, if dataset is locally bound; interested party can try to identify the person and for example send targeted ads.

3. Are there any alternatives to your solution 3. Are there any alternatives to your solution? Use code keys to anonymize (more workload, and data is less precise), Can we refuse to share if we are not paid for the anonymization? 4. What groups, individuals, organisations, etc, will in any way be affected by or have a stake in the development, use, application or mere existence of your decision and solution? (Including society at large and the environment.) Other research groups in the same area. Electrical companies relaying on our research to improve services and so society. And the participants of our study (if not completely anonymized).

5. What values, interests, duties, standpoints and attitudes are involved in the use of your solution and of the possible alternatives? Environment, Society, People using smart meters 6. What effects will your solution (and the alternatives) have on each of these values? What are the strengths/possibilities and the weaknesses/risks of each solution to each value? Will these solutions fit certain values and conflict with others? What values and how? Positive: Good for society and environment if the research leads to more efficient services. Individuals will (probably) spend less money in energy. Negative: People can be afraid to use smart meter, if there data is shared (and makes it easy to identify them).

7. What will you do to make sure that the use of the solution will be optimal with regards to ethical aspects? For instance, adapt the design of the product, use of research methods, cooperation with industry, information to stakeholders, etc? How exactly are you going to succeed with this? We are a public funded organization and are by law required to share data. Participant had been informed before the data was captured. Perhaps even better: Give them the possibility to opt-out even after the data is captured. Risk of too less participants. Guarantee to follow the law and relative standards and use the data only for scientific purposes. Demanding other researching to follow the rules and standards before handing out the data. Store the data in a safe place (encrypted).