XR4Human Ethical Impact Assessment

Overview

The XR4human Ethical Impact Assessment (EIA) for Immersive Technologies aims to provide a structured framework for developers to assess, anticipate, and mitigate the effects of their innovations on users, society, and the environment. The ethics impact assessment serves as an essential tool for evaluating the ethical implications of immersive experiences, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) based on the outlined principles and articles of the XR4human Code of Conduct for developers/users. There are five (5) key areas of impact: Health and wellbeing, Autonomy and identity, Data and Technology, Social, and Environmental. The corresponding guiding principles and relevant articles from the XR4Human Code of Conduct are noted under each area of impact. The developer is encouraged to read the Code of Conduct before going through the questions in this impact assessment. Following this assessment, developers are encouraged to complete the checklist to ensure all areas have been considered.

Download the Impact Assessment document:

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Code of Conduct

The XR4Human Code of Conduct sets forth the ethical obligations for developers involved in technological innovation and governance of immersive technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), as well as all current and other emerging immersive environments. The Code is designed to ensure that these technologies respect human rights, protect user privacy, promote inclusivity, and safeguard the mental, physical, and social well-being of all users.

XR4Human Code of Conduct

User Rating System - A guide

1. Learn

Read and become familiar with the XR4Human CoC. Learn by exploring the Educational Toolbox and the publications (on Ethics, Interoperability & Legal policy) in the Rating Repository

2. Assess

Conduct a self-assessment of your own XR technology concept via the Ethical Impact Assessment (EIA) and the CoC Compliance Checklist

3. Test and Explore

Test your idea and get new ideas by exploring the Experience Library

4. Reflect

Reflect on the rating information received after completing your self-assessment and join the XR4Human Forum to revise and improve your XR concept

Use our Tools to implement the Code of Conduct

The following guides provides step-by-step instructions and tools to help you implement the Code of Conduct during your development and deployment processes.

Compliance checklist

To assess adherence with the principles and articles of the Code of Conduct.

Ethical impact assessment

To assess, anticipate, and mitigate the effects of your innovation on users, society, and the environment.

AI Guide

Instructions on how to compile these tools with associated XR4Human deliverables/documentation and combine them with your own documents in a large language model (LLM) of your choice.