CHANGER is an EU-funded project. The aim is to adapt the system of ethical evaluation in European research to new technological and scientific challenges. The project pursues an ‘ethics by design’ approach that integrates ethical reflection into the earliest stages of research in order to support researchers in incorporating ethical judgements into project design and implementation. At the same time, ethics committees (RECs) should be strengthened to adequately assess new challenges posed by modern technologies and innovative research practices.

One example of these challenges is the use of large anonymised databases. The increasing use of big data from non-research sources (e.g. mobile phones, wearables or satellites) requires a reassessment of ethical principles in data science.

Other challenges include the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on human responsibility and authenticity, particularly through generative AI systems such as ChatGPT, as well as the social and regulatory issues associated with CRISPR/Cas9 and other gene editing technologies. Transdisciplinary research projects with public participation also require new ethical assessments, as the problem formulation and degree of participation often only develop in the course of the project.

CHANGER pursues a structured approach that evaluates existing practices in ethical assessment, develops innovative methods and tools for ethics assessment, expands the expertise of ethics experts and researchers and identifies political and legal implications for sustainable and human rights-based ethics assessment. The project builds on the findings of previous EU-funded initiatives such as ENERI, proEthics, iRECs, SOPs4RI and SIENNA in order to utilise existing knowledge and avoid redundancies.