Latest Developments in XR Ethics

Latest Developments in
XR Ethics
@KentBye

● Sensemaking Frameworks for Ethics
○ Ethical Contexts
○ Human Rights and XR
○ Techno-Social Economic Contexts
■ Privacy
■ Mitigating Harassment
● Neurorights & XR Privacy
● Mapping of Ethical Landscape

Photo by
Laval Virtual Visionaries Think Tank 2019
Brainstorm on XR Ethics

Image viaYan Shvartzshnaider (April 15, 2020)
https://twitter.com/ynotez/status/1250578500588879873
Nissenbaum, H. (2010). Privacy in Context:Technology, Policy, and
the Integrity of Social Life. Stanford University Press.

HumanCenteredDesignE. (2021, March 9). 2021 Distinguished Lecture: Helen Nissenbaum,
"Contextual Integrity".YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPwmC0Sfe50.
Nissenbaum, H. F. (2010). Privacy in context: technology, policy,
and the integrity of social life. Stanford Law Books.
Contexts – differentiated social
spheres defined by important
purposes, goals, and values,
characterized by distinctive
ontologies, roles and practices
(e.g. healthcare, education,
family); and norms, including
informational norms —
implicit or explicit rules of info
flow.

Microsoft (2020, August 26). What is mixed reality? Retrieved April 02, 2021, from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/mixed-reality/discover/mixed-reality
Overlay
Contexts in AR
Switch
Contexts in VR

Bye, K. (2021,April 8). #988: Defining “Biometric Psychography” to Fill Gaps in Privacy Law to
Cover XR Data: Brittan Heller’s Human Rights Perspectives.Voices ofVR Podcast.
https://voicesofvr.com/988-defining-biometric-psychography-to-fill-gaps-in-privacy-law-to-cover
-xr-data-brittan-hellers-human-rights-perspectives/.
Bye, K. (2021, June 4). #994: Neuro-Rights Initiative:A Human Rights Approach to Preserving
Mental Privacy with RafaelYuste.Voices ofVR Podcast.
https://voicesofvr.com/994-neuro-rights-initiative-a-human-rights-approach-to-preserving-ment
al-privacy-with-rafael-yuste/.
Bye, K. (2021, July 5). #999:The EFF on XR Privacy & How AR/VR Needs a Human Rights
Framework +Timeline of UN Resolutions on Privacy. Voices ofVR Podcast.
https://voicesofvr.com/999-the-eff-on-xr-privacy-how-arvr-needs-a-human-rights-framework/.

ThingLink. (n.d.). Universal Declaration of Human Rights by TERMCAT.ThingLink.
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/885518633164341250.
FDR Presidential Library & Museum. (1949, November). Eleanor Roosevelt
holding poster of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (in English), Lake
Success, NewYork. November 1949. Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fdrlibrary/27758131387/.

How are these human rights preserved in XR?

(1) The right to identity, or the ability to
control both one’s physical and mental
integrity
(2) The right to agency, or the freedom of
thought and free will to choose one’s own
actions
(3) The right to mental privacy, or the
ability to keep thoughts protected against
disclosure
(4) The right to fair access to mental
augmentation, or the ability to ensure that
the benefits of improvements to sensory and
mental capacity through neurotechnology
are distributed justly in the population.
(5) The right to protection from
algorithmic bias, or the ability to ensure
that technologies do not insert prejudices.
Proposed Neuro-Rights
Yuste, R.,Genser, J. & Herrmann, S. "It's Time for Neuro-Rights." Horizons: Journal of International Relations and
Sustainable Development, no. 18, 2021. pp 154-164. JSTOR,
https://www.cirsd.org/en/horizons/horizons-winter-2021-issue-no-18/its-time-for-neuro--rights. Accessed 31 Mar. 2021.

Lessig, Lawrence, Code 2.0, Chapter: What Things Regulate (available in
print: Lawrence Lessig (2006). Code. Lawrence Lessig. pp. 120–137. ISBN
978-0-465-03914-2.
Lessig’s Pathetic
Dot Theory
Nested
Contexts
vs
Market
Law
Cultural
Norms
Technology
Architecture
& Code
User

Economy
Laws
Culture
Design
Guidelines

User
Experience
Economy
Laws
Culture
Design
Guidelines

App Code
User
Experience
Economy
Laws
Culture
Design
Guidelines

OS Code
App Code
User
Experience
Economy
Laws
Culture
Design
Guidelines

OS Code
App Code
User
Experience
Economy
Laws
Culture
Design
Guidelines
Hardware
& Tech
Architecture

Human
Rights
Principles
Governments
& Laws
XR Companies
XR Hardware
& OS
Ethical
Design
Principles
XR
Experiences
Users

How do we preserve the Right
to Mental Privacy in XR?
Biometrically-inferred psychographic data from
XR is not covered by existing privacy laws.
Some biometric user data will be contextually-
relevant & required for some XR apps to
function, which users should be able to consent
to sharing within the context of those apps.
Companies require users to consent to their
Terms of Service & Privacy Policies, which do
not prevent them them from recording &
monetizing user data, extrapolating biometric
psychographic information, or using it for
contextually-aware AI, but they have limited
what third party developers can do with that
same data.
Human Rights
Principles
International Organizations
International Laws &
Human Rights Laws
UN Guiding
Principles on
Business &
Human Rights
Neuro-Rights
Initiative
Right to
Mental
Privacy
XR
Hardware +
Operating
System
Ethical
Design
Principles?
XR User’s Context & Data
Third-Party
XR Developers
XR Experiences
that Require User
Data to Operate
US Government
Lobbyists
European
Union
GDPR
XR Companies
State
Laws
Federal
Laws
Oversight & Enforcement
New
Federal
Privacy
Law?
Monetizing
User Data &
Biometric
Psychography?
Contextually
-Aware AI?
Terms of
Service
Privacy
Policy
App
Store
Developer
Terms of
Service

XR Company’s
Conduct inVR Policy
& Community Policy
Ethical Design Principles
XR
Experiences
Users
Users
App Safety
Policies
Civil Rights
XR Safety
Tech Architecture to
Mitigate Harassment & Abuse
Human Rights
Principles
Cultural
Norms
Code of
Conduct

{
Human Rights Principles
International Laws &
Human Rights Laws
XR User
XR Apps
Civil Rights Laws
Ethical Design Principles
XR Platform Companies
XR User
App’s
Code of
Conduct
App’s
Terms of
Service
Cultural
Norms
Cultivate
Elements of
Culture
Oppression of
Marginalized
Communities
Budget for
XR Safety
Listen to Harms
XR Safety Tech
Architecture to Mitigate
Harassment & Abuse
Peer-to-Peer
Protections:
Muting, Blocking, &
Kicking from Room
Personal
Space
Bubbles
Moderation
(Paid,
Volunteer,
or AI?)
(Visible or
Invisible?)
Bans or
Suspension
by the App Which XR Contexts
Should Have This?
(Public Social VR apps vs
Private VR education,
enterprise, medical with
multiplayer functionality)
Rolling
Recording to
Report Abuse
Implicit Trust
& Safety
Social Scores
Privacy
Implications?
Implications of Combining
with Govt Social Scores?
Determine Protected
Speech or Behavior
vs Violations in
Code of Conduct
Appeals
Process?
1st Party App Violations May
Lose Access to XR Hardware
Platform’s
Conduct in
VR Policy
Interactions
Auto-Bans via
False Reports
or Rogue AI?
Diﬀerences in Language
& Culture in Moderating?
Limited
Features
for Minors

Bye, K. (2021, May 26) https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1397571341297934336 Bye, K. (2021, May 26) https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1397573000208080896

Bernal, G. (2021,April 15). Developing Galea:An open source tool at the intersection ofVR and
neuroscience. MIT Media Lab. https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/galea/.
neurojoe. (2020, November 19). Introducing: Galea. OpenBCI.
https://openbci.com/community/introducing-galea-bci-hmd-biosensing/.

Bernal, G. (2021,April 15). Developing Galea:An open source tool at the intersection ofVR and neuroscience. MIT Media Lab. https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/galea/.

Eye Tracking and Pupil Response
Facial Scans
Movement Kinematics
Electrodermal Activity (EDA)
Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)
Skin Conductance Response (SCR)
Skin Conductance (SC)
Skin Temperature (SKT)
Body Temperature
Electromyography (EMG)
Mechanomyogram (MMG)
Strain-Based Sensor (SBS)
Electrocardiography (ECG / EKG)
Heart-RateVariability (HRV)
Respiratory (RSP)
Respiratory RateVariability (RRV)
Photoplethysmogram (PPG)
Impedance Plethysmography (IPG)
BloodVolume Pulse (BVP)
Electro-Oculogram (EOG)
Impedance Cardiography (ICG)
Gyrocardiography (GCG)
Ballistocardiography (BCG)
Magnetocardiography (MCG)
Seismocardiography (SCG)
Phonocardiogram (PCG)
Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM)
Acoustic Respiratory Signals (ARS)
Blood Pressure (BP)
Pulse Arrival Time (PAT)
Pulse Transit Time (PTT)
Electroretinogram (ERG)
Electrogastrogram (EGG)
Magnetogastrography (MGG)
Electroencephalography (EEG)
Near-Infrared Spectroscopy-Based Cerebral
Oxiometry (NIRSCO)
Optically-Pumped Magnetoencephalography
(OP-MEG)
Optically-Pumped Magnetometers
Magnetoencephalography (OPM-MEG)
Time Domain Functional Near-Infrared
Spectroscopy (TD-fNIRS)
Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS)
High-Density Diffuse Optical Tomography
(HD-DOT)
Intracranial Pressure (ICP)
Electrocorticography (ECoG)
Intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG)
Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
Local Field Potential (LFP)
Transcranial Doppler (TCD)
Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SSEP)
Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential (BAEP)
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(fMRI)
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
(NMR or MRS)
Subdural EEG (sdEEG)
Intracranial EEG (icEEG)
Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy (DCS)
Subdermal EEG Needle
Superconducting QUantum Interface Device
(SQUID)
Microneurography
List of Physiological & Biometric Data
Bye, K. (2021, May 30).Twitter. https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1399143885427728384

Biometric
Psychography
Identity
Miller, M.R., Herrera, F., Jun, H. et al. Personal identifiability of user tracking data during
observation of 360-degreeVR video. Sci Rep 10, 17404 (2020).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74486-y

Mental & Social
Presence
Active
Presence
Emotional
Presence
Embodied &
Environmental
Presence

Mental Thoughts
Cognitive Processes
Cognitive Load
Social Presence
Behaviors
Intention
Actions
Movement
Aﬀective State
Emotional Sentiment
Facial Expression
Microexpressions
Stress / Arousal
Physiological Reactions
Eye Gaze/Attention
Body Language
Muscle Fatigue

“True character is revealed in the choices
a human being makes under pressure -
the greater the pressure, the deeper the
revelation, the truer the choice to the
character's essential nature.”
― Robert McKee
McKee, R. (1997). Story: Substance, structure, style and the principles of screenwriting.

Contextually-Aware, Biometric Psychographic Profiling

Brittan Heller,Watching Androids Dream of Electric Sheep: Immersive Technology, Biometric Psychography, and the Law, 23
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment andTechnology Law 1 (2021) Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/jetlaw/vol23/iss1/1

● Sensemaking Frameworks for Ethics
○ Ethical Contexts
○ Human Rights and XR
○ Nested Contexts
■ Privacy
■ Mitigating Harassment
● Neurorights & XR Privacy
● Mapping of Ethical Landscape

Biometric
Psychography
Identity

Madary, M., & Metzinger,T. K. (2016). RealVirtuality:A Code of Ethical Conduct. Recommendations for Good Scientific Practice
and the Consumers ofVR-Technology. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2016.00003

● Psychological Impacts
● Embodiment
● Avatar Representation
● Body Perception
● Identity
● Self-Model Changes
● Sensory Experience
● Long-Term Impacts
● Virtual Body Ownership
● Self-Determination
● Context Sensitivity
I. Self / Biometric Data / Identity
● Cybersickness
● Biometrically-Inferred Data
● Agency
● Suggested Memories
● Proteus Effect
● Planting Memories
● Modulating Memories
● Affective Computing
● Body Swap
● Mind Plasticity
● Epigenetic Traits

Yang Yin
Competition
Walled Garden
Curated Content
Vertical-Integration
Proprietary
App Store
Cooperation
Open Ecosystem
No Gatekeepers
Horizontal Platform
Shared Source Code
Open Access

● Virtual Commerce
● Virtual Goods
● Virtual Economy
● Business Models
○ Surveillance Capitalism
○ Subscription Models
● Who owns data?
● Exporting data
● Pay for Privacy?
● Closed vs Open Ecosystem
II. Resources / Money / Values
● Anti-Money Laundering
● Cryptocurrency
● Blockchain
● Digital Divide
● Economic Disparities
● Neuromarketing
● Advertising as Behavioral
Modification
● Attention Economy
● Homomorphic encryption
● Lobbyist Influence of Policy

● Minimum Age for VR
● Negative Transference
● Personalized Education
● Family Educational
Rights & Privacy Act
● Ability to Mute Others
● Mitigating & Moderating
Hate/Dangerous Speech
● Telepresence Fidelity
III. Early Education / Communication / Local Travel
● Broadcasting Biometrics
● Non-verbal comm norms
● Recording Conversations
● Automatic Audio
Transcripts
● BCI Reading Thoughts
● End-to-End Encryption
● Geolocation Tracking
● Navigation Distractions

● Privacy of volumetric
scans of your home
● Collective privacy of
family in your home
● Spatial doxxing
● Fourth Amendment
defines public vs private
spaces
○ All of cyberspace is “public”
○ Third-Party Doctrine
IV. Home & Family / Private Property / Earth
● Who can augment?
○ Property rights
● Context of places
○ (e.g. Pokémon at
Holocaust Museum)
● Control & modulate
perception of environment
● Data security
● Ecological Impact

● Virtual Violence
● Addictive Entertainment
● Hijacking Attention
● The Dopamine Economy
● Escapism
● Game Ratings
● Content Warnings
● Content Moderation
● Children's Online Privacy
Protection Rule (COPPA)
● Undermining User Agency
V. Entertainment / Content Creation / Sex
● Media Ethics
● Psychographic profiling
of entertainment
preferences
● Undermine User Agency
● XR Porn Implications
● Dystopia Narratives
● New forms of immersive
storytelling

● Do Not Harm
● Detecting Medical Conditions
● Triggering Seizures
● Harm to Mental Health
● Depersonalization /
Derealization Disorder
● Out-of-Body Disassociation
● PTSD Treatment/triggering
● Biometrically-inferred info
● Telemedicine privacy
● Health Insurance Portability
& Accountability Act
VI. Medicine / Healing
● Autonomy of Healing
● Public health
● Recovered memories of abuse
● XR as a medical device
● False hope of XR’s promise
● Mandatory treatments
● Body dysmorphic disorder
● Virtual therapeutics
● Well-being applications
● VR rehabilitation
● VR exercise
● Physiological reactions to
Sexual Assault

Empathy + Truth &
Reconciliation

● Harassment Prevention
○ Personal Space Bubble
● Assault
● Hostile Conflict Zone
● Information Warfare
● Disinformation
● Deep Fakes
● Identity Theft
● Nudging Behaviors
● Deception
VII. Other / Partnerships
● Virtual Beings
○ Dangers of
Anthropomorphic AI
○ Dangers of Synthetic
Phenomenology
○ Relationships with AI
● Super Intelligence
● Empathy Machine &
Technological Determinism
● Ethics Washing

Bringing Deceased Back to Life

● Virtual resurrections
● Image rights after death
● Account blocks &
permanent bans
● Right to be forgotten
○ Account/data erasure
● Violence & killing in VR
○ Humanoid vs
non-humanoid NPCs
● Filtering violent or
terrorist content
VIII. Death
● Military dual use
● Using VR for torture
● Experiential Warfare
● Autonomous weapons
systems & drones
○ Virtual suicide
bombing
○ Virtually-mediated
extrajudicial killings
● Life-threatening
security vulnerabilities

● Philosophical implications
○ What is reality?
○ What is truth?
○ The virtual vs the real
● Filter bubbles of reality
● Religious manipulation
● XR ethics & design
● Philosophy of privacy
● Neuroethics
● Ethics of human
augmentation
● Workforce skills training
IX. Philosophy / Higher Education / Law
● XR’s impact on law
● XR as judicial evidence
● What content is illegal?
● Future risks of XR tech
● Terms of conditions
● Algorithmic oversight
● Institutional Review Boards
● International Law
● Human Rights Law
● Longitudinal studies
● Beneficence vs autonomy
● Informed consent

Virtual Screens for Productivity

● Enterprise XR Ethics
● Remote work
● Using XR for hiring decisions
● Automation & job displacement
● Conflicts of interest between
academia & industry
X. Career / Government / Institutions
● Governmental surveillance
● Fourth Amendment
○ Third-Party Doctrine
● Governmental loyalty tests
● Governmental nudging
● Governmental propaganda
● Future of online public space
● Right to augment public space

● Diversity & inclusion
● Cultural differences
● Cultural norm conflicts
● Algorithmic bias
● Code of Conduct
● Elements of culture
● Trust & safety social scores
● Harms to society
● Changing social norms
● Social hallucinations
● Weaken implicit racism
● Sustainable communities
● Reducing inequalities
XI. Friends / Community / Culture
● Social anxiety
● Augmenting other people
● Sharing public sphere
● Context-blind tech
● Stakeholder deliberations
● Data during humanitarian
crises.
● Extremist indoctrination
● Japanese “hikikomori” &
acute social withdrawal
● Sharing biometric data as a
part of identity expression

duenos.net
Combating Isolation

● Accessibility
○ Render content
depending on ability
● Inclusive design
● Truly anonymized avatars
● Re-identifying
de-identified PII data
● Combating social isolation
XII. Hidden / Exiled / Accessibility
● Temporary & permanent
exile of user suspensions
● Prisoner rehabilitation
● Addictive escapism
● Dark spatial web
● Closing technology gap
for older generations

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