Responsible technology
Responsible technology means designing, testing and using technology so that it is safe, serves people well, keeps humans in control of consequential decisions, is accessible and respects rights. The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI) applies these principles in its own work, including Nexus Foundry and its experiments, and studies how institutions can apply them to the technologies they adopt. This page sets out the principles, how GCRI uses them and where their limits lie. It is part of innovation and technological change.
- 01InstitutionThe Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI)
- 02Service levelR0: information and enquiries
- 03In briefThe short answer
- 04Five principlesWhat responsible technology asks for
- 05In GCRI's own workHow the principles apply inside the programme
- 06Key termsTerms used on this page
- 07LimitsPrinciples are not a certificate
GCRI · Institution · service level R0
The short answer.
Responsible technology means designing, testing and using technology so that it is safe, serves people well, keeps humans in control of consequential decisions, is accessible and respects rights. GCRI applies these principles in its own work, including Nexus Foundry, and studies how institutions apply them; it does not certify any technology as responsible.
Draft to published version.
Fig.How a finding is reviewed before it is published. Design, not a record.
Systemic exposure in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Where people and networks concentrate, the exposure through which shocks travel between systems, shown for Latin America and the Caribbean as an example geography for this subject.
What responsible technology asks for.
Tested before trusted
Systems are evaluated in controlled conditions with stop rules before they touch real services.
Humans decide
Consequential decisions stay with accountable people, and analysis is never presented as the decision.
Privacy and consent
Personal data and protected knowledge are used only with a lawful basis, a stated purpose and consent where required.
- Social outcomes: who benefits, who bears the risk and who is left out are part of every evaluation
- Accessibility: interfaces and outputs are designed so that people with disabilities can use them
How the principles apply inside the programme.
- 01
Evidence labels
Every result says whether it is observed, modelled, a scenario or expert judgement, so automated outputs cannot pass as observation.
- 02
Controlled exercises
Simulated warnings never reach live audiences, and real infrastructure is never an unapproved target.
- 03
Release is not deployment
A tested configuration is not authorization to use it in operation; that decision belongs to the operator or authority.
- 04
Correction and challenge
Anyone can challenge a public finding, as set out under scientific and editorial integrity.
Terms used on this page.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Responsible innovation | Anticipating and governing the effects of new technology together with society. |
| Human oversight | Review of automated decisions by people with the authority and information to change them. |
| Algorithmic impact assessment | A structured review of an algorithm's purpose, data, risks to rights and safeguards. |
| Web Content Accessibility Guidelines | The W3C recommendation that sets testable success criteria for making web content perceivable, operable, understandable and robust for people with disabilities. |
Principles are not a certificate.
GCRI does not certify that a technology is responsible, safe or compliant with any law or standard. It publishes evaluations with their scope and limits. How institutions govern AI and digital systems is examined by The Global Risks Forum (GRF) under digital and AI governance, and how GCRI handles data under data and privacy responsibilities. See also technology assessment.
Questions and answers.
Does GCRI follow a particular AI framework?
Can GCRI review my organization's AI system?
What does human oversight mean in practice?
How is accessibility handled on GCRI sites?
Around GCRI.
Start with an enquiry.
The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.