Intelligent Software Agents and Privacy 

The hectic demands of modern lifestyles, combined with the growing power of information technology, is driving the development of products designed to help people get through their busy and information-laden days. Numerous services are currently available, ranging from simple push technologies such as "PointCast" which brings information to your doorstep by "narrow-casting" or filtering information based on an individual's specified interests; to sophisticated systems that allow for the "personalization" of network user sessions and the tracking of user activities. Collaborative filtering of a user's "clickstream" or history of Web-based activity, combined with neural networks, which look for detailed patterns in a user's behaviour, are just beginning to emerge as powerful tools used by organizations of all kinds.

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While the majority of these technologies are at the moment essentially benign in design and utility, they are indicative of the types of products that are being developed. The end result culminates in the creation and development of Intelligent Software Agent Technologies (ISATs). Intelligent Software Agents (often referred to simply as agents or "bots" (short for robot or knowbot) are software programs, at times coupled with dedicated hardware, which are designed to complete tasks on behalf of their user without any direct input or supervision from the user.

At first glance, agent technologies appear to hold out great promise for automating routine duties and even conducting high level transactions. However, upon greater reflection, it becomes clear that ISATs could present a significant threat to privacy relating to the wealth of personal information in their possession and under their control. Accordingly, it is highly desirable that their development and use reflect international privacy standards in order to safeguard the personal information of their users.

Agent technology finds its roots in the study of Artificial Intelligence (AI), human computer user interface design, and software engineering. Currently available agents (which are typically "smart" Internet search engines developed to support commercial Web sites) are beginning to display the characteristics envisioned by the visionaries but do not yet have the full functionality that will lead to the great promise and threat identified in this paper.

While personalization programs and smart search engines may cause significant privacy concerns, we believe that for the time being at least, privacy is not likely to become as major an issue with these services, due to their currently limited scope (recognizing the potential privacy concerns raised by data mining.) Thus, this paper focuses on the emerging agent technologies - ISATs - that extend these programs into new realms of automated activity and ungoverned behaviour.

Contents

  • Foreword
  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 Agent technology
  • 3 Legal aspects
  • 4 Agent threats
  • 5 Privacy-Enhancing Technologies
  • 6 Conclusions and Recommendations
  • 7 Abstract
  • 8 Executive summary
  • 9 References
  • Appendices
    • A The Identity Protector
    • B Reasoning and Learning

Citation
Borking, J.J., Eck, B.M.A. van en Siepel, P. Intelligent software agents and privacy Registratiekamer, January 1999. Background studies & Investigations 13