Ethical Marketing AI? A Structured Literature Review of the Ethical Challenges Posed by Artificial Intelligence in the Domains of Marketing and Consumer Behavior

Abstract

With the increasing use of AI in marketing, ethical repercussions are beginning to emerge. From privacy issues, through discrimination of marginalized groups, to emergent systemic social distortions, AI is changing the marketing ethical landscape. In this paper we conduct a structured literature review of the emerging ethical issues posed by AI in the domains of marketing and consumer behavior. We identify three clusters of ethical issues (algorithm, society and existential) and map these to the marketing domains of systems, brands, and consumers. We conclude that the field of ethical marketing AI is still very much in its infancy, but such is the rate of development ethical marketing AI is likely to become an important field for academics and practitioners alike.