Responsible innovation is not comfortable: a call for grounded, embodied reflexivity when doing RI

Abstract

In this perspective piece, we reflect on our experiences as situated responsible innovation (RI) practitioners working in the settler-colonial capitalist contexts of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Beginning with the premise that discomfort is inherent and valuable to practicing RI, we share three situated experiences of noticing and navigating discomfort in our research: embracing the discomfort of one’s compromised agency; developing relationships to hold discomfort; and staying with the trouble of colonialism. Through articulating our experiences, we encourage RI practitioners to reflect on their positionalities and response-abilities. We also highlight how discomfort can open-up or close-down opportunities for practicing RI – depending on how it is handled in practice. We believe such grounded, embodied reflexivity can support research teams to better notice when innovation projects committed to responsibility are perpetuating uneven power relations, and to be more proactive in designing ethical, equitable, and anti-colonial research cultures and technologies.

Keywords

• Feminist and anti-colonial science and technology studies (STS)
• response-ability
• settler-colonial capitalism
• intersectionality and equity
• critical reflexivity