Informing standards​

Innovators need to be aware that new research, technologies and practices can raise ethical, societal and privacy concerns or unintended consequences. Addressing these concerns at the outset of a project is critical to ensure that benefits are maximised and any risks are minimised. Any innovation or practice associated with causing harm or reducing safety is unlikely to be widely adopted.

Standards provide approved rules and guidelines for performing activities and provide benefits in terms of enhancing performance and improving safety.

At Trilateral, we develop, apply, and inform the development of standards to maximise project output and avoid negative impacts and unwanted consequences.

Trilateral Research employs a co-design approach to informed standard development and applies relevant standards in a number of domains. Our team engages with end-users and stakeholders through desk-based research, interviews, briefing papers and workshops to:

• Develop standards: Trilateral has contributed to existing standards (ISO 29134), CEN Workshop Agreements (CWA 17145-2 and CWA 17147), and currently participates in a number of international (Joint Working Group ISO/IEC JTC1/SC 42 – ISO/IEC JTC1/SC 40: Governance implications of AI; ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42/WG 3: Trustworthiness; and ISO/TC 307 Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies) and national working groups (e.g., National Standards Authority of Ireland Technical Committee 002/Security 16 – Blockchain and Electronic Distributed Ledgers);

• Apply standards in real-world contexts: Our work across different domains involves pragmatically reviewing how solutions comply with existing standards and how these standards interact with different regulations;    

• Inform standards development: We provide frameworks to support stakeholders in identifying, assessing and mitigating the ethical, legal and societal issues to be considered in the selection, development and implementation of potential standards.