Perceptions of Ethics in Persuasive User Interfaces

摘要

We explore the perceptions of the ethics of persuasive technology as applied to the design of user interfaces. We learn whether consumers of software see persuasion through technology as ethical, whether producers of software view the development of persuasive technology as ethical, and whether these opinions can be reconciled. This research consists of a review of relevant literature on the topic, a survey of software consumers, interviews with software producers, and an analysis of the data, resulting in conclusions intended to influence the responsible design of user interfaces in the future.We find that persuasive technology is effective, that software consumers do not necessarily recognize persuasion when it is applied to them, and that they do not generally wish to be persuaded, unless they view the motivation of the persuader as being morally admirable. Software developers, on the other hand, do not intentionally behave unethically, but are open to the development of persuasive technology, and even deceptive technology, under some conditions.