This chapter introduces the reader to the main ethical issues underlying designing, developing, and implementing AAL (Active Assisted Living) technologies created to assist the older population. The nature of AAL technologies, including audio and video-based monitoring, often raises a sense of mistrust or invokes the fear of constant surveillance. However, the full operation of these technologies is not always easy to be understood by non-experts, hindering the performance of quick assessments and impacting the informed consent given and obtained by individual users. Moreover, the primary discussion on the use of AAL technologies often focuses on an ethical trade-off between the privacy of the users and the need to closely monitor and improve their safety, overlooking other valuable nuances from the discussion. A comprehensive framework is needed to assess the risks and benefits of deploying AAL technologies. This framework should integrate ethical principles, stakeholder perspectives, and a risk-benefit analysis to guide decision-making processes and promote responsible deployment. Additionally, there is a need to focus on the utility of AAL devices to provide proper functionality to the user and independence to function socially without constant intervention from caregivers. To ensure an inclusive approach, multi-stakeholder engagement methods with quadruple-helix participation can gather perceptions, challenges, risks, barriers, and enablers for a comprehensive and continuous dialogue.

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Ethical Issues in AAL

  • Anto Čartolovni,
  • Carina Dantas,
  • Anamaria Malešević,
  • Aysegül Ilgaz

摘要

This chapter introduces the reader to the main ethical issues underlying designing, developing, and implementing AAL (Active Assisted Living) technologies created to assist the older population. The nature of AAL technologies, including audio and video-based monitoring, often raises a sense of mistrust or invokes the fear of constant surveillance. However, the full operation of these technologies is not always easy to be understood by non-experts, hindering the performance of quick assessments and impacting the informed consent given and obtained by individual users. Moreover, the primary discussion on the use of AAL technologies often focuses on an ethical trade-off between the privacy of the users and the need to closely monitor and improve their safety, overlooking other valuable nuances from the discussion. A comprehensive framework is needed to assess the risks and benefits of deploying AAL technologies. This framework should integrate ethical principles, stakeholder perspectives, and a risk-benefit analysis to guide decision-making processes and promote responsible deployment. Additionally, there is a need to focus on the utility of AAL devices to provide proper functionality to the user and independence to function socially without constant intervention from caregivers. To ensure an inclusive approach, multi-stakeholder engagement methods with quadruple-helix participation can gather perceptions, challenges, risks, barriers, and enablers for a comprehensive and continuous dialogue.