What ethical frameworks should guide the development of virtual assistants to ensure they respect human autonomy while enhancing decision-making?

ANSWER: When developing virtual assistants, ethical frameworks such as deontology and utilitarianism should be applied to ensure human autonomy is respected. Deontological ethics dictate adherence to rules safeguarding individual rights and preventing harm, while utilitarian principles promote actions yielding the greatest benefit to the most people. Thus, developers should ensure virtual assistants transparently inform users of data usage, avoid manipulative designs, and support informed decision-making, while optimizing functionality to serve the collective well-being and enhance overall user autonomy.