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6 Answers
Woah, that's a tricky one. I think transparency is key. If an AI is 'attending' and recording, everyone should know. Using it secretly feels like a big breach of trust, especially if people expect your actual attention and input during the meeting. It's one thing for an AI to transcribe, another for it to 'be' you.
The real question is, why would you need an AI to attend *for* you? If you're that overloaded with meetings that you can't genuinely attend, that's a deeper organizational problem about meeting culture and workload, not something an AI band-aid can ethically fix. You're being paid to be present and contribute, your AI isnt.
Productivity hack if used right, IMO. If it's just for generating a better summary or transcript than you could do yourself while also trying to participate, that's fine *if disclosed*. But if it means you're completely disengaged and the AI is a proxy for your presence? That's problematic for collaboration. Your colleagues expect *you*.
From a company perspective, there could be huge security risks depending on what AI tool is used and where that meeting data is going. Especially if confidential information is discussed. I bet most company IT policies wouldn't allow third-party AI in meetings without vetting. Ethically, it feels like you're not fulfilling your role if you're not truly present mentally, even if your avatar is there.
I think it depends on the meeting type. For a large, informational webinar where you're mostly listening? Maybe less of an ethical issue if the AI is just summarizing for you. For a small team brainstorming session or a one-on-one? Absolutely not without explicit consent. The expectation of genuine human interaction is high in those.
Consider the impact on team dynamics. If people start suspecting others aren't 'really' there, it erodes trust and makes genuine collaboration much harder. Remote work already has challenges with connection; this could make it worse. Always disclose, or just use AI for personal note-taking assistance after the fact from a recording you have permission to make.
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