Samsung Smartwatches

1. The organization

Company Name: Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics is a global technology conglomerate. It is one of the biggest companies in the world ranking eighth highest brand value in the world. Samsung has a wide range of consumer electronics including smartphones, televisions, wearables and home appliances. One of its prominent products is the Samsung Galaxy Watch series. This smart devise offers all usual smartwatch functionalities such as fitness tracking, notifications, and health monitoring.

Website: samsung.com/nl/business/about-us/company-info/

2. The AI technologies Employed

Samsung employs a wide range of AI technologies but in this data-ethical consultations ill restrict myself to the AI functions of the Samsung smartwatch. First off I will briefly elaborate on what a smart watch is in order to point out the AI technologies used. Smartwatches are, like most smart devices, watches but with a whole lot more possibilities. Because of the convenient placement of the watch, that is around the wrist. The watch is able to track a lot of interesting statistics. Including; steps taken, heart rate, the quality and duration of sleep, the amount of calories burned through activities, sending text messages, making calls and believe it or not it is even able to tell you the time.
In order for the watch to function almost like a smart phone it utilizes voice recognition. Samsung integrates advanced natural language processing (NLP) algorithms into its smartwatches to enable voice recognition and interaction. The NLP algorithms analyse speech patterns, syntax, and semantics to accurately interpret and execute user instructions, enhancing the accessibility and usability of the smartwatch interface.

The health monitoring functions the watch provides make use of machine learning algorithms to analyse biometric data for features like heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking. These algorithms analyse biometric data collected from sensors embedded in the smartwatch, such as optical heart rate sensors and accelerometers. By continuously learning from user data, the machine learning models can provide personalized insights into users' health and well-being, such as detecting irregular heart rhythms or identifying patterns indicative of sleep disorders.

This goes hand in hand with the activity recognition functions of the watch. It employs AI-driven algorithms to detect and classify different physical activities for accurate fitness tracking.
AI-driven algorithms power the activity recognition capabilities of Samsung's smartwatches, allowing them to automatically detect and classify different physical activities performed by the user. These algorithms leverage sensor data, including accelerometer and gyroscope readings, to recognize activities such as walking, running, cycling, and swimming. Accurate activity recognition enables the smartwatch to provide users with detailed fitness metrics, including step counts, distance travelled, calorie expenditure, and workout intensity, facilitating effective exercise tracking and goal setting.

3. Ethical concerns

Since Samsung is one of the largest companies in the world it has a lot of impact. Because of that is important that they use this in a ethical manner. Several sources show that Samsung is involved in several unethical endeavours (Ethical Consumer, 2018). However these are some serious issues they go beyond the scope of this assignment.
Regarding AI and the ethical usage of it Samsung has a some fundamental ethical values listed on their website (AI Ethics | Digital Responsibility, n.d.). Their core values are fairness, transparency and accountability.

Data Privacy and Security

Samsung collects extensive user data through its smartwatch ecosystem, including health metrics, location information, and usage patterns. Concerns arise regarding the privacy and security of this sensitive data, particularly if it is vulnerable to unauthorized access or breaches. Users may not fully understand the extent of data collection or how their information is utilized, raising questions about consent and data ownership.

One fundamental problem with smart devices such as smartwatches is that they have many features and thus collect a large amount of data. However, users are rarely aware of all the data being collected. Even though Samsung is transparent about the usage of their data collection, users might still fail to understand that a significant amount of personal data is collected by Samsung. This lack of understanding can lead to users not fully consenting to data collection practices, raising ethical concerns about informed consent and data ownership.

It is important to understand the significance of this data collection. Samsung knows the name and address of the individual. On top of that they know where someone is because of the build in GPS. They know what they do for activities and they know their sleeping habits. They can create a comprehensive image of the individual with the data that is being collected. This is dangerous information if it could be leaked to third parties. On top of that consumers are not fully aware of the comprehensive image Samsung has of its users. So there is in a sense a loss of privacy with the users even though Samsung might not actually use this data they do have access to it.

Health Data Accuracy and Reliability

As highlighted above Samsung's smartwatches offer health monitoring features, including heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking. However, there are concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the data generated. Inaccurate readings or false alarms could lead to user anxiety or inappropriate healthcare decisions. Ensuring the precision and reliability of health-related AI functionalities is crucial to maintaining user safety.

It is essential to recognize that inaccurate health data can have significant consequences. For example, false positives in heart rate monitoring might cause unnecessary panic and stress, leading users to seek medical attention when it is not needed. On the other hand, false negatives could result in users ignoring potential health issues. Therefore, it is vital for Samsung to continuously validate and improve the accuracy of their health monitoring algorithms.

The main ethical issue is that a device such as the smart watch is not a medical device. No medical specialist will use this device in professional settings. Thus the consumer must be aware of the fact that there could be a fallacy in the data it provides. Blindly trusting the smart watches’ measurements might lead to mental health issues, because the individual is constantly reminded of possible health risks. Although the statistics the watch provides are interesting and sometimes actually useful they are not medically graded, the user must be aware of this fact.

To enhance this section, it would be useful to discuss the methodologies Samsung employs to ensure data accuracy and reliability. This could include regular updates to the algorithms based on new research, collaboration with healthcare professionals to validate the data, and rigorous testing under various conditions. Additionally, outlining Samsung's commitment to transparency in communicating the limitations and potential inaccuracies of their health data can help build user trust.

User Profiling and Behavioural Analytics

Samsung may utilize AI algorithms to analyse user behaviour and preferences based on data collected from smartwatches. While this information can be used to personalize user experiences and improve product functionalities, there is a risk of creating detailed user profiles without transparent consent or awareness. Unethical use of behavioural analytics could lead to manipulation or exploitation of users' personal data for targeted advertising or other purposes.

Detailed user profiling raises significant ethical concerns. Users might not be fully aware of the extent to which their behaviour and preferences are being tracked and analysed. This lack of awareness can result in users being subjected to manipulation, such as targeted advertising that exploits their vulnerabilities or biases. Furthermore, the creation of detailed user profiles without explicit consent can be seen as a violation of privacy.

However this is a legitimate ethical concern, Samsung does ask the user’s consent before personalising advertisement. So to a certain extent Samsung has take measures to ensure the user consents with behavioural analytics. But I will argue that there is a more general concern, namely that personalised advertisement will always influence behaviour to a certain extent. The fact that Samsung’s smart watch collects a lot of data that could be used to create an accurate user profile, the user is more vulnerable to personalised advertisement and thus manipulation. Thus the question becomes not whether Samsung does actually ask for consent but whether Samsung should ethically provide personalised advertisement in the first place.

In conclusion, while Samsung has made strides in establishing ethical guidelines for their AI technologies, continuous efforts are necessary to address these ethical concerns comprehensively.

4. Recommendations

Here I will address the concerns highlighted above and make some recommendations.

First off enhance transparency and user control over data privacy settings by providing clear explanations of data collection practices and allowing users to opt out of certain data sharing. This can be done in more engaging ways. Samsung could use interactive methods to explain the data collection process. This will ensure that users will actually comprehend the information provided by Samsung, as a plain terms and conditions file containing 80 pages will not contribute to the transparency issue. Samsung could also provide the users with easy control over witch data is collected and what data is not collected. Giving the user a sense of control and thus ensuring more autonomy in the data collecting process. Concluding that Samsung could improve on their transparency policy by making it's measures more comprehendible and giving the user more control by providing the choice which data is and is not collected.

Secondly Samsung should continue to invest in rigorous testing to ensure the accuracy and reliability of health-related AI functionalities, incorporating feedback from medical professionals and users. On top of improving their technology they should also make the user aware of the limitations. That is to say they should make verry clear to the user that their devices are not medical devices and should not be seen as such.

Finally to address the ethical concerns regarding user profiling and behavioural analytics, Samsung should adopt a policy of explicit and informed consent. This involves providing users with detailed information about what data is collected, how it is used, and the potential implications. Samsung should also offer clear and accessible options for users to opt out of behavioural data collection and profiling. By making the possible implications clear to the user he or she has a choice whether they want to risk possible manipulation, intended or non intended, by making advertisements more personal. The option should be more explicit and the implications should be highlighted by Samsung even if this means a loss of profit.

Bibliography

AI Ethics | Digital Responsibility. (n.d.). Samsung Us. https://www.samsung.com/us/about-us/digital-responsibility/ai-ethics/

Ethical Consumer. (2018, May 13). Samsung Group | Ethical Consumer. Ethical Consumer. https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/company-profile/samsung-group