INTRODUCING ARTIFICIAL COMPANIONS TO USERS WITH DEMENTIA IN UNREGULATED MARKETS: OPPORTUNITIES VS. ETHICAL ISSUES

Abstract: Because of the high costs of providing long-term care, artificial companions are increasingly considered an opportunity to provide support to older adults with cognitive impairment while saving costs. Artificial companion can comfort and inform, thus inducing a sense of being in a relationship. Sensors and algorithms usually allow these applications to exude a life-like feel. The explosion of these technologies has created a “cultural lag” between their rapid commercial introduction and the slower evolution of regulations. An outcome of this cultural lag is a tension between the potential of artificial companions to support users and a series of unresolved ethical issues related to the fact that users might lack the capacity to fully understand the implications of using these technologies. Specific challenges of deception, surveillance, consent and social isolation are raised by the introduction of these technologies in users with cognitive impairment. The case study of a sophisticated artificial companion commercially available in the United States lends the opportunity to examine the tension between the potential of this technologies vs. unresolved ethical issues. This companion is an avatar on an electronic tablet that is displayed as a dog or a cat. Whereas artificial intelligence guides most artificial companions, this application is a hybrid of robots and human beings because it also relies on technicians “behind” the on-screen avatar, who via surveillance, interact with users. We conclude with a call to develop regulations promoting artificial companions as “human-driven technologies,” i.e. technologies focused on truly empowering users according to their cognitive abilities

INTRODUCING ARTIFICIAL COMPANIONS TO USERS WITH DEMENTIA IN UNREGULATED MARKETS: OPPORTUNITIES VS. ETHICAL ISSUES

Abstract Because of the high costs of providing long-term care, artificial companions are increasingly considered an opportunity to provide support to older adults with cognitive impairment while saving costs. Artificial companion can comfort and inform, thus inducing a sense of being in a relationship. Sensors and algorithms usually allow these applications to exude a life-like feel. The explosion of these technologies has created a “cultural lag” between their rapid commercial introduction and the slower evolution of regulations. An outcome of this cultural lag is a tension between the potential of artificial companions to support users and a series of unresolved ethical issues related to the fact that users might lack the capacity to fully understand the implications of using these technologies. Specific challenges of deception, surveillance, consent and social isolation are raised by the introduction of these technologies in users with cognitive impairment. The case study of a sophisticated artificial companion commercially available in the United States lends the opportunity to examine the tension between the potential of this technologies vs. unresolved ethical issues. This companion is an avatar on an electronic tablet that is displayed as a dog or a cat. Whereas artificial intelligence guides most artificial companions, this application is a hybrid of robots and human beings because it also relies on technicians “behind” the on-screen avatar, who via surveillance, interact with users. We conclude with a call to develop regulations promoting artificial companions as “human-driven technologies,” i.e. technologies focused on truly empowering users according to their cognitive abilities

Ethical Issues Raised by the Introduction of Artificial Companions to Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment: A Call for Interdisciplinary Collaborations.

Due to the high costs of providing long-term care to older adults with cognitive impairment, artificial companions are increasingly considered as a cost-efficient way to provide support. Artificial companions can comfort, entertain, and inform, and even induce a sense of being in a close relationship. Sensors and algorithms are increasingly leading to applications that exude a life-like feel. We focus on a case study of an artificial companion for people with cognitive impairment. This companion is an avatar on an electronic tablet that is displayed as a dog or a cat. Whereas artificial intelligence guides most artificial companions, this application also relies on technicians "behind" the on-screen avatar, who via surveillance, interact with users. This case is notable because it particularly illustrates the tension between the endless opportunities offered by technology and the ethical issues stemming from limited regulations. Reviewing the case through the lens of biomedical ethics, concerns of deception, monitoring and tracking, as well as informed consent and social isolation are raised by the introduction of this technology to users with cognitive impairment. We provide a detailed description of the case, review the main ethical issues and present two theoretical frameworks, the "human-driven technology" platform and the emancipatory gerontology framework, to inform the design of future applications