Nicole Shadowen

Nicole Shadowen, Diane Hosfelt

Mixed reality (MR) technologies are emerging into the mainstream with affordable devices like the Oculus Quest. These devices blend the physical and virtual in novel ways that blur the lines that exist in legal precedent, like those between speech and conduct. In this paper, we discuss the challenges of regulating immersive technologies, focusing on the potential for extensive data collection, and examine the trade-offs of three potential approaches to protecting data privacy in the context of mixed reality environments.

Diane Hosfelt, Nicole Shadowen

Mixed Reality (MR) devices require a world with always-on sensors and real-time processing applied to their outputs. We have grappled with some of the ethical concerns presented by this scenario, such as bystander privacy issues with smartphones and cameras. However, MR technologies demand that we define and defend privacy in this new paradigm. This paper focuses on the challenges presented by eye tracking and gaze tracking, techniques that have commonly been deployed in the HCI community for years but are now being integrated into MR devices by default.