The privacy implications of social robots: Scoping review and expert interviews

TLDR

Social robots challenge users’ informational privacy and also affect their physical, psychological, and social privacy due to their autonomy and potential for social bonding. We investigate the privacy implications of social robots as an emerging mobile technology, focusing on how their autonomy and potential for social bonding create unique privacy challenges. We conducted a scoping literature review and expert interviews to examine these challenges through contextual privacy and human–machine communication frameworks. The review and interviews reveal that social robots introduce privacy concerns beyond those of existing mobile technology, and that attention is shifting toward technological privacy solutions, legal developments, and enhanced user agency and literacy.

Abstract

In this contribution, we investigate the privacy implications of social robots as an emerging mobile technology. Drawing on a scoping literature review and expert interviews, we show how social robots come with privacy implications that go beyond those of established mobile technology. Social robots challenge not only users’ informational privacy but also affect their physical, psychological, and social privacy due to their autonomy and potential for social bonding. These distinctive privacy challenges require study from varied theoretical perspectives, with contextual privacy and human–machine communication emerging as particularly fruitful lenses. Findings also point to an increasing focus on technological privacy solutions, complementing an evolving legal landscape as well as a strengthening of user agency and literacy.