Gender as Emotive AI and the Case of ‘Nadia’: Regulatory and Ethical Implications

20 Pages Posted: 3 Jun 2021

See all articles by Nora Ni Loideain

Nora Ni Loideain

Information Law & Policy Centre; Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge; Faculty of Humanities

Rachel Adams

Information Law and Policy Centre, Institute for Advanced Legal Studies; Research Use and Impact Assessment, Human Sciences Research Council

Damian Clifford

Australian National University College of Law

Date Written: June 2, 2021

Abstract

This article unpacks the regulatory and ethical problematics of the artificial intelligence (AI) powered virtual assistant, ‘Nadia’, developed for use in the Australian Government’s National Disabilities Insurance Agency (NDIA).

We explore how Nadia is gendered female, utilises high-risk AI technologies, including emotive-inducing AI and machine learning to monitor highly sensitive health and biometric data, and was developed for use by a group deemed vulnerable to further human rights violations under international law.

Drawing from the human rights frameworks of the EU and the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly the rights to data protection law and privacy, we explore how a system like Nadia poses interferences with, and potential violations to, the fundamental human rights of vulnerable groups, and discuss what regulatory provisions and frameworks could have been put in place to safeguard Nadia.

Keywords: AI, Australia National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), biometrics, dignity, emotion monitoring, ethics, facial recognition, governance, regulation, gender, impact assessments, privacy, protection of personal data, virtual personal assistants, vulnerable groups

JEL Classification: K10, C80, D80

Suggested Citation

Ni Loideain, Nora and Adams, Rachel and Clifford, Damian, Gender as Emotive AI and the Case of ‘Nadia’: Regulatory and Ethical Implications (June 2, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3858431 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3858431

Nora Ni Loideain (Contact Author)

Information Law & Policy Centre ( email )

Charles Clore House
17 Russell Square
London, WC1B 5DR
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://ials.sas.ac.uk/about/about-us/people/nóra-ni-loideain

Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge ( email )

Trinity Ln
Cambridge, CB2 1TN
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/people/profile/nora-ni-loideain

Faculty of Humanities ( email )

PO Box 524
Auckland Park
Johannesburg, Gauteng 2006
South Africa

Rachel Adams

Information Law and Policy Centre, Institute for Advanced Legal Studies ( email )

Charles Clore House
17 Russell Square
London, WC1B 5DR
United Kingdom

Research Use and Impact Assessment, Human Sciences Research Council ( email )

Private Bag X41
134 Pretorius Street
Pretoria, 0001
South Africa

Damian Clifford

Australian National University College of Law ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200
Australia

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