EMO RETAIL AI : Consumer Attitudes on Retail AI Emotion Recognition Systems

Sammanfattning

Combining surveillance and emotion analysis seems to be on the doorstep and companies are fighting for a competitive edge with Artificial Intelligence. Our study investigates the attitudes of customers towards retail AI emotion recognition implementations and how they can be used by retailers. What role can emotion detecting AI systems play in retail customer interactions? How do people interact with novel AI surveillance technology and the ethical and privacy implications especially involving emotions, in retail environments? Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data from participants to gauge acceptable practices as well as privacy and ethical considerations. Respondents provided varied responses to different scenarios, but most were open to data collection and emotional data processing. Through analysis of the data, several key themes were uncovered including Convenience, Control over Data and Expectation of Privacy. The understandings gained throughout the research point to a need for guidelines and regulations to deploy emotion detecting AI safely and considerately. Finally, recommendations are provided for the multitude of aspects that require attention in designing AI monitoring systems.