42 U.S.C. § 19052 — Research ethics

(a) Sense of Congress. Congress states that—

(1) some emerging areas of research may have ethical, social, safety, and security implications that may be apparent as early as the basic-research stage;

(2) including ethical, social, safety, and security considerations in the research-design and review process for Federal awards may help reduce possible harms before they occur;

(3) the Foundation's agreement with the National Academies to conduct a study and make recommendations about governance of research in emerging technologies is a positive step toward this goal; and

(4) the Foundation should continue working with stakeholders to promote best practices^* for governing research in emerging technologies at every research stage.

(b) Incorporation of ethics considerations. Drawing on stakeholder input, no later than 24 months after August 9, 2022, the Director^* must revise proposal instructions to require that ethical and societal considerations be included in a funding proposal before the award is made, when those considerations apply. The Director must evaluate those considerations when reviewing proposals, taking into account relevant input from the proposal's peer reviewers. The considerations must affect award decisions when the Director decides that this is necessary. When including these considerations, proposers may include, as appropriate—

(1)(A) any readily foreseeable or quantifiable risks to society, including how the research could enable products, technologies, or other outcomes that could intentionally or unintentionally cause significant societal harm; or

(B) a statement that no readily foreseeable potential ethical, social, safety, or security implications are apparent;

(2) how technical or social solutions can reduce those risks and, as appropriate, a plan to put those reduction measures into effect; and

(3) how research partnerships and collaborations can help reduce possible harm and increase possible benefits to society.

(c) Guidance. The Director must seek stakeholder input to develop clear guidance on what is a readily foreseeable or quantifiable risk as described in subsection (b)(1). To the extent practicable, the Director must harmonize this policy with existing ethics policies or related requirements for human subjects.

(d) Research. The Director must make competitive awards to institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations, or consortia of those institutions or organizations, to support—

(1) research assessing the possible ethical and societal implications of Foundation-supported research and of products or technologies enabled by that research, including the benefits and risks identified under subsection (b)(1); and

(2) developing and verifying approaches to proactively reduce foreseeable risks to society, including the technical and social solutions identified under subsection (b)(1).

(e) Annual report. The Director must encourage recipients to update their consideration of possible risks and benefits as appropriate in the annual reports that all awardees must provide under their award terms and conditions.