Discussing the Risks of Adaptive Virtual Environments for User Autonomy

TL;DR

This paper critically examines the potential risks of adaptive virtual environments, highlighting how increased institutional control may threaten user autonomy and personal freedom in various applications.

Contribution

It emphasizes the importance of discussing ethical concerns and potential abuse cases alongside technological advancements in adaptive virtual environments.

Findings

Adaptive environments can reduce user autonomy.

Institutions may exploit adaptivity for control.

Potential for abuse in professional and personalized content use cases.

Abstract

Adaptive virtual environments are an opportunity to support users and increase their flow, presence, immersion, and overall experience. Possible fields of application are adaptive individual education, gameplay adjustment, professional work, and personalized content. But who benefits more from this adaptivity, the users who can enjoy a greater user experience or the companies or governments who are completely in control of the provided content. While the user autonomy decreases for individuals, the power of institutions raises, and the risk exists that personal opinions are precisely controlled. In this position paper, we will argue that researchers should not only propose the benefits of their work but also critically discuss what are possible abusive use cases. Therefore, we will examine two use cases in the fields of professional work and personalized content and show possible abusive use.