That’s rather nihilistic.

How exactly are academic researchers supposed to guarantee that their research will be applied for the good of humanity?

Government is you and me and everyone else.

If you want government to care about it, write to them and tell them to care about it.

They probably aren’t going to care about random comments on HN.

Research on ethical machines has been taking place since the dawn of the drone age and has already guided military policy. You can find the supporting evidence of that for yourself if you search for it.

Not the OP, but no, the government doesn't and can't represent me. We are systematically locked into a two party system due to winner-takes-all voting in the USA and you seem to think that two (very similar) parties are enough for me to have representation. They aren't.

It also isn't nihilistic to have a very high bar for sharing any data these days. I personally am beyond considering sharing my data and go to great lengths to keep my important data safe. I don't trust anyone with it.

I would refer you to the political theory of John Locke, et al., in particular the consent of the governed.

Additionally, see the UN Human Rights declaration for the most modern (as far as I am aware) descendant of that political theory.

UN Human Rights declaration has as its immediate political theory ancestor the US Declaration of Independence.