Do Users Even Care If Reused Smart Garments Reveal Earlier Users' Data? -- Anticipating Privacy Implications in the Circular Economy

Paper Title

"Do Users Even Care If Reused Smart Garments Reveal Earlier Users' Data?: Anticipating Privacy Implications in the Circular Economy"

Publication Info

• Topic area: Privacy challenges in the intersection of smart garments and the circular economy.
• Keywords: Smart garments, circular economy, privacy, data ownership, surveillance, digital divide, speculative enactment, systemic scenarios, user perceptions, HCI.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: The reuse of smart garments in a circular economy introduces privacy risks, particularly when biometric data from previous users is not properly erased, leading to potential data leaks.
• Significance: Addressing these privacy risks is crucial for fostering trust in reused smart garments and ensuring the viability of circular-economy practices in a data-driven society.
• Motivation and related work: Prior research has highlighted privacy concerns in smart devices and the circular economy but has not adequately explored user perceptions of privacy in futures where reused smart garments are prevalent. This study aims to fill this gap by examining privacy implications and developing methods to study privacy in possible futures.

Solution

• Proposed approach: A systemic speculative-enactment study combining systemic scenario development with a speculative enactment to explore privacy perceptions and implications in reused smart garments.
• Novelty:
  1. Development of four systemic future scenarios based on critical uncertainties (surveillance and the digital divide).
  2. Integration of a speculative enactment involving a functional prototype and a simulated data leak to elicit user reflections.
  3. Application of a three-phase anticipatory model (envisioning, concretising, projection) to study privacy in possible futures.
  4. Identification of three major implications: redefinition of data ownership, the inevitability of the digital divide, and the potential for authoritarian environmentalism.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  1. Envisioning: Systemic scenario development using critical uncertainties (digital divide and surveillance) to create four contrasting future scenarios.
  2. Concretising: A two-week speculative enactment where participants wore a reused smart shirt prototype and experienced a simulated data leak.
  3. Projection: Analysis of participant reflections to identify broader implications for privacy in reused smart garments and the circular economy.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  1. Participants initially disregarded the privacy implications of their own biometric data but showed concern for others' data when exposed to a simulated data leak.
  2. Resignation to surveillance was evident, with participants accepting corporate or state data collection under certain conditions.
  3. Participants recalibrated their understanding of personal data, recognizing the potential for biometric data to reveal sensitive personal details.
• Advantage over baselines: The study's combination of systemic scenario development and speculative enactment provided richer insights into privacy perceptions than traditional methods like workshops or interviews alone.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Eight participants wore a reused smart shirt prototype for two weeks.
  • A simulated data leak midway through the study served as an elicitation technique.
  • Final interviews included discussions of four systemic future scenarios to explore privacy perceptions and societal implications.
• Limitations and future work:
  1. Cultural context (Finland) and small sample size (n=8) limit generalizability.
  2. Ethical constraints (e.g., non-wireless prototype) may have affected the realism of the enactment.
  3. Future work should explore diverse cultural contexts, larger samples, and alternative futures beyond the extended present.

Summary

This study investigates privacy implications in the reuse of smart garments within a circular economy, using a novel anticipatory approach that combines systemic scenario development and speculative enactment. Findings reveal that participants initially disregarded privacy risks but recalibrated their perceptions after experiencing a simulated data leak and reflecting on systemic future scenarios. The study highlights three key implications: the need to redefine data ownership, the inevitability of the digital divide, and the potential for authoritarian environmentalism. The methodological contributions provide a framework for studying privacy in possible futures, offering actionable steps for HCI researchers to integrate anticipation into their work.