Privacy in the age of robotics: A discussion with Erin Relford

Autonomous robots with embedded artificial intelligence are growing more common across industry sectors. So-called “embodied AI,” collects vast amounts of data through its sensors and changes how humans interact with technology.

As embodied AI becomes more common and continues to drive innovation, it also creates new challenges for ethical uses of data and personal privacy.

Erin Relford is a privacy engineer at Google and has worked in the embodied AI space. In a recent article for the IAPP, she wrote that “existing privacy mitigations may be insufficient for human-robot interactions.” That’s why she helped create a robotics privacy framework to “promote privacy-preserving design” in the “responsible deployment of robotics with embedded AI.

IAPP Editorial Director Jedidiah Bracy caught up with Erin to discuss her work in this vanguard space.