Virtual assistants and privacy: An anticipatory ethical analysis

Abstract

With the use of the simple phrase, “OK, Google,” or “Hey Alexa…” a user has the world at their fingertips. Virtual assistants are what makes up a whole new artificial intelligence market where these new voice-activated systems are now assisting humans not only with daily tasks but also with making decisions. The virtual assistant market is focused on having the virtual assistant perform a wide range of activities where they want humans do less, and technology does more. Virtual assistants provide help with simple tasks but they are now a major source for research, finance management and other services that use machine learning as the basis of analysis. Virtual assistants function through the use cloud-based program where they use previous data to enhance the current device’s performance. While virtual assistants make day-to-day life much easier for the individuals who use it, there is still a question of privacy and who has access to the information gathered by the personal assistant. The technical issues with virtual assistants include data being skewed and a breach of privacy by storing information on the cloud server rather than on the computer’s hard drive, queries being sent to various companies where the data may be stored for up to two years, and saved queries being connected to their users data in order to associate the collected information with a profile created with the user’s data. By having these flaws related virtual assistant devices, consumers are less likely to trust this form of technology that the market is trying to promote and enlarge. These technical issues lead to ethical concerns that will analyzed in this discussion. The ethical issues that arise from the technological concerns with virtual assistants are the lack of notification that is given to the user when this information gets stored. The user has little, or no, knowledge regarding to where their personal data is going and where it is being stored. Companies are known to have used the information collected to create a more micro-targeted form of marketing, leading them to deeper profits. The social consequence of virtual assistants is that the consumer is left in the dark when it comes to their own, private, personal information. Companies claim that once a user agrees to their terms and conditions that they now own the consumers data but that information still belongs to an individual, creating a confusing dynamic of who owns what data. Despite the technical and ethical issues that are related to virtual assistants, there are several benefits to this new technology that has helped shaped the climate of the technological world. This analysis will examine examples of different virtual assistants, the ethical problems that are associated with them, and carry out an anticipatory ethical analysis of problems that may arise in the future. From this analysis policy can be developed about personal assistants.