Towards Ethical Personal AI Applications: Practical Considerations for AI Assistants with Long-Term Memory
It addresses ethical and practical issues for developers and users of AI assistants, but is incremental as it synthesizes existing knowledge rather than proposing new solutions.
This paper explores the challenges and implications of deploying personal AI assistants with long-term memory capabilities, reviewing technological foundations, surveying current applications, and analyzing critical considerations for ethical use.
One application area of long-term memory (LTM) capabilities with increasing traction is personal AI companions and assistants. With the ability to retain and contextualize past interactions and adapt to user preferences, personal AI companions and assistants promise a profound shift in how we interact with AI and are on track to become indispensable in personal and professional settings. However, this advancement introduces new challenges and vulnerabilities that require careful consideration regarding the deployment and widespread use of these systems. The goal of this paper is to explore the broader implications of building and deploying personal AI applications with LTM capabilities using a holistic evaluation approach. This will be done in three ways: 1) reviewing the technological underpinnings of LTM in Large Language Models, 2) surveying current personal AI companions and assistants, and 3) analyzing critical considerations and implications of deploying and using these applications.