Virtual Assistants and Ethical Implications

Abstract

Virtual assistants are becoming a part of our daily life, from our homes to our work. Sometime we may not even know that the customer service agent that we were speaking with is a virtual assistant. These assistants continuously collect information from our interactions and learn many things about us. The information they gather over time is enormous. This chapter introduces the concept of ethics, discusses the ethical principles of virtual assistants, (Transparency, Justice & fairness, Non-maleficence, Responsibly and Privacy). Although there is limited regulation governing these virtual assistants, practical guidelines and recommendations are provided for designers and developers to understand the ethical implications when building a virtual assistant. In this chapter, we also discuss technology and learning techniques for virtual assistants and present examples on how to ensure ethical virtual assistant.