Earlier this month, the Centre for Technomoral Futures joined colleagues at the University of Edinburgh Easter Bush campus for a thought-provoking workshop on the ethical implications of data collected through research. With a focus on Easter Bush’s three key themes— Sustainable Agriculture, Infectious Diseases and Enhancing Health—the event brought together researchers from the Vet School, the Roslin Institute, and the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems to explore how data ethics applies across these disciplines.

Setting the Scene: Introducing Data Ethics

Dr Zee Talat, Dr Fabio Tollon, and Centre Manager, Emma Caldwell, opened the workshop with an overview of the Centre’s work, providing an introduction to bias, data, and AI ethics. These presentations set the stage for discussions on the ethical challenges that arise when collecting, managing, and applying data in animal welfare, agriculture, food systems and beyond.

Key Themes from the Discussions

The range of presentations that followed, delivered by Easter Bush staff, sparked in-depth discussions on a range of ethical considerations, including:

The ethics of modelling – How assumptions and biases in models can shape social outcomes.
Global perspectives – recognising that ethical concerns may vary across cultural and national contexts.
Disciplinary silos – rethinking how research teams are structured and incentivised to ensure diverse perspectives.
Ethical accountability – how different models of accountability can lead to different outcomes.
Data access and power – the ethical dilemma of who controls data, particularly in agricultural settings where small farmers may lack access to contemporary technologies and methods creating inequity.
Funding challenges – how financial constraints impact the data required for comprehensive research into food systems.
Fundamental ethical questions about animal welfare - how to accurately assess an animal’s mental state and the impact of ‘digital solutions’ which undoubtedly cause pain.

Looking Ahead: Future Actions

It was clear from the discussions that there is an appetite for continued collaboration on data ethics in these areas. Some potential next steps include:

Developing toolkits and resources – creating accessible guidance for researchers on ethical data use in their fields.
Building case studies – documenting real-world applications of data ethics to provide learning resources.
Strengthening interdisciplinary partnerships – encouraging further collaboration between ethics experts and domain specialists.
Reframing the narrative - designing workshops to challenge deterministic views of new technologies (and technology in general) by promoting an understanding of their social construction.

The workshop reinforced the Centre for Technomoral Futures’ role in supporting colleagues across the University on the ethical implications of AI and data. By continuing these conversations, we can ensure that ethical considerations are embedded into all areas of research, regardless of discipline.

If you would like staff from the Centre to join a workshop or discussion on data and AI ethics in your field of research, please get in touch.

About the contributors:

Zeerak Talat is Chancellor’s Fellow in Responsible Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence at the CTMF. Their research centres on if, and how, machine learning and AI technologies can be used towards fair and equitable futures to answer how machine learning and AI should look, if we must live with them in our societies. Their research centres on if, and how, machine learning and AI technologies can be used towards fair and equitable futures to answer how machine learning and AI should look, if we must live with them in our societies.

Fabio Tollon (CTMF Postdoctoral Researcher) is a philosopher of technology with interests in the ethics of AI, moral responsibility, and free will. He is a postdoctoral researcher as part of the BRAID (Bridging Responsible AI Divides) Programme. Fabio is a research fellow at the unit for the ethics of technology at Stellenbosch university and a research associate at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research (CAIR) at the university of Pretoria. Fabio’s work has been published in journals such as Ethics and Information Technology, European Journal of Analytic Philosophy, and AI & Society.

Emma Caldwell (Manager, CTMF) is currently on secondment from the School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences where she leads on marketing & communications. Emma started working in higher education 20 years ago and has held roles across student recruitment, communications, widening participation and admissions within several Scottish HEIs. Emma holds a BA in French & Politics from the University of Stirling as well as an MSc in Computing (UX & Service Design) from Edinburgh Napier University.