Chapter 13: An Exploratory Investigation Into the Ethical and Legal Implications of the Application of Human Mimicking Technology (HMT) in Customer Engagement

Human mimicking technology (HMT), encapsulated in the tools such as chatbots powered by Artificial Intelligence, interactions such as virtual reality (VR) and personalised recommendations, has brought about a revolution in the field of customer engagement and cultivation of relations with them. While its power and potential to build and cultivate deeper connections and thereby drive brand loyalty is hard to deny, but at the same time, ethical considerations and potential pitfalls cannot be overlooked and underemphasised in the light of the available evidences on the ground. This research paper seeks to investigate the ethical landscape and dilemmas implicit in the use of HMT in customer engagement by analysing key issues involved, such as transparency, algorithmic bias, emotional manipulation, job displacement and data privacy. Through case studies and appropriate theoretical frameworks, it seeks to identify potential harms, propose and prescribe ethical guidelines and call for additional research with a view to ensuring responsible and restrained HMT applications in the quest for enhanced and augmented customer engagement.