"Governmental entities may potentially use nudging strategies, for example to promote the performance of charitable acts. Does the practice of nudging for the benefitof society, including nudgesby affective systems, raiseethical concerns?
## BackgroundA few scholars have noted a potentially controversial practice of the future: allowing a robot or another affective system to nudge a user for the good of society
1. For instance, if it is possible that a well-designed robot could effectively encourage humans to perform charitable acts, would it be ethically appropriate for the robot to do so? This design possibility illustrates just one behavioral outcome that a robot could potentially elicit from a user.Given the persuasive power that an affective system may have over a user, ethical concerns related to nudging must be examined. This includes the significant potential for misuse.."p.97-98"Should affective systems be designed to nudge peoplefor the user’s personal benefit and/or for the benefit of others?
## BackgroundManipulation can be defined as an exercise of influence by one person or group, with the intention to attempt to control or modify the actions of another person or group. Thaler and Sunstein (2008) call the tactic of subtly modifying behavior a “nudge4”. Nudging mainly operates through the affective elements of a human rational system. Making use of a nudge might be considered appropriate in situations like teaching children, treating drug dependency, and in some healthcare settings. While nudges can be deployed to encourage individuals to express behaviors that have community benefits, a nudge could have unanticipated consequences for people whose backgrounds were not well considered in the development of the nudging system
1. Likewise, nudges may encourage behaviors with unanticipated long-term effects, whether positive or negative, for theindividual and/or society. The effect ofA/IS nudging a person, such as potentially eroding or encouraging individual liberty, or expressing behaviors that are for the benefit others, should be well characterized in the design of A/IS."p.96-97