The Responsible Technology Institute (RTI) is an international centre of excellence focused on responsible technology. It is establishing a creative and robust community to discuss and develop culturally nuanced approaches to responsibility and responsible innovation (RI). It takes an international focus on the societal challenges presented by new and emergent technologies, unpacks complexities around understandings of responsibility and different regulatory environments, and addresses gaps that exist in industry-related approaches to responsible technology.

The RTI’s mission is to:

• draw together strands of ongoing research and investigation of relevance to academia, policy and industry
• collaborate with researchers from the Department of Computer Science at Oxford and the Oxford Robotics Institute, as well as wider networks
• work with other organisations in order to act as a hub and touchpoint on responsible technology for different disciplines
• provide advice and support for policy makers and government
• seek to foster public dialogue on responsible innovation

This collegiate and co-operative model aims to ensure that those developing the businesses, innovations and laws of the future will have a comprehensive understanding of some of the challenges and complexities that technology can bring and how responsible innovation approaches can help address these.

The RTI provides guidelines and suggested directions for further research and acts as consultant on sister organisations’ challenges. It hopes to support researchers at other institutions in other countries, broadening its reach and impact.