42 U.S.C. § 19052 — Research ethics

(a) Sense of Congress. Congress states its view that: some emerging research areas carry ethical, social, safety, and security risks that can be spotted even at the basic research stage; building ethical, social, safety, and security thinking into how federal research is designed and reviewed can help stop harm before it happens; the Foundation's agreement with the National Academies to study and recommend how to govern research in emerging technologies is a good step; and the Foundation should keep working with stakeholders to promote best practices for governing emerging technology research at every stage. (b) Incorporation of ethics considerations. Using input from stakeholders, within 24 months of August 9, 2022, the Director must change proposal instructions to require that funding proposals address ethical and societal considerations before an award is made, whenever those considerations apply. The Director must evaluate these considerations when reviewing proposals, taking peer reviewers' input into account, and factor them into award decisions when the Director thinks it necessary. When addressing these considerations, applicants may, as appropriate: describe any readily foreseeable or measurable risks to society — including how the research could lead to products or technologies that could cause serious harm, intentionally or not — or instead state that no such risks are apparent; explain how technical or social solutions could reduce those risks, along with a plan to put such solutions in place; and explain how partnerships and collaborations in the research could help reduce potential harm and increase potential benefits to society. (c) Guidance. The Director must ask stakeholders for input to write clear guidance on what counts as a "readily foreseeable or quantifiable risk" under subsection (b)(1), and, as much as practical, make this policy consistent with existing ethics policies and rules for research involving human subjects. (d) Research. The Director must make competitive awards to colleges or nonprofits, including groups of them, to fund research assessing the possible ethical and societal effects of Foundation-supported research and the products or technologies it enables — including the benefits and risks described in subsection (b)(1) — and to fund work developing and testing ways to proactively reduce those foreseeable risks. (e) Annual report. The Director must encourage award recipients to update their thinking about risks and benefits, as appropriate, in the annual reports already required under the terms of their awards.