Computer science research has led to many breakthrough innovations but has also been scrutinized for enabling technology that has negative, unintended consequences for society. Given the increasing discussions of ethics in the news and among researchers, we interviewed 20 researchers in various CS sub-disciplines to identify whether and how they consider potential unintended consequences of their research innovations. We show that considering unintended consequences is generally seen as important but rarely practiced. Principal barriers are a lack of formal process and strategy as well as the academic practice that prioritizes fast progress and publications. Drawing on these findings, we discuss approaches to support researchers in routinely considering unintended consequences, from bringing diverse perspectives through community participation to increasing incentives to investigate potential consequences. We intend for our work to pave the way for routine explorations of the societal implications of technological innovations before, during, and after the research process.

翻译：计算机科学研究带来了许多突破性创新，但也因催生对社会产生负面意外后果的技术而受到审视。鉴于近期新闻界及研究界对伦理问题的讨论日益增多，我们采访了20位来自不同计算机科学子领域的研究人员，旨在识别他们是否以及如何考虑其研究创新可能产生的意外后果。研究表明，考虑意外后果普遍被视为重要，但实践中却很少践行。主要障碍包括缺乏正式流程与策略，以及优先追求快速进展和发表的学术惯例。基于这些发现，我们探讨了支持研究者将考虑意外后果常态化的方法，例如通过社区参与引入多元视角，以及增加调查潜在后果的激励措施。我们期望这项工作能够为在研究过程之前、期间及之后系统性地探索技术创新的社会影响铺平道路。