Objective
Experimentation is a foundational practice in the digital economy. Datafication, platformisation and automation have created opportunities to experiment either on, or with, human subjects on an unprecedented scale – but also with an unprecedented lack of scrutiny since digitisation has effectively broken the link between experimentation and its governance. Hybrid forms of institutional embedding compound the governance challenge, with experimentation conducted through state or corporate intermediaries without any direct contact with subjects. This has created, in essence, a laboratory where the public are the guineapigs. Examples include Facebook’s 600,000-person experiment in emotional manipulation, the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and the current testing of generative AI psychology chatbots on vulnerable users. The PublicLab project addresses an urgent need to protect subjects of mass digital experimentation to the same degree that we aim to protect people involved in traditional experiments.
PublicLab will advance the state of the art in three areas: the governance of biomedical ethics; of social science research ethics; and of experimental intervention in the policy and corporate worlds. Drawing on Critical Data Studies and Data Justice, the project will 1) contribute to definitional clarity as to when digital experimentation becomes problematic, creating a new evidence base on emerging risks; 2) research how information infrastructures composed of different types of actor come together on the transnational scale to test policies, products or hypotheses; and 3) produce a conceptual framework that can be used to set the agenda for governing digital experimentation, with a focus on the challenges of hybrid governance. The overall contribution of the work will be to produce a conceptual toolkit for ethics, regulation and practice that can address accountability gaps and lead to governance innovation in relation to digitally enabled experimentation worldwide.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences sociology governance
- social sciences sociology industrial relations automation
- social sciences psychology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
5037 AB Tilburg
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.