11 Discussion

is that biometrics introduces the risk of social exclusion [719], which would increase with the introduction of biosignal-based biometrics, as it enables the extraction of much more information than solely traditional biometric data. This makes the balance between intelligence (e.g., AmI) and privacy even more sensitive than with traditional biometrics (cf. [684]). Although there is still a long way to go, it will be interesting to see whether biometrics and ASP will indeed merge and evolve to a DHM and if so, what consequences this will have for our lives. Human dignity should be a leading denominator in future research on both DHM and ASP [113, 490], perhaps even more than anything else.

11.7 Conclusion

ASP should be considered as a crucial element for HCI, AI, and health informatics. While machines evolve rapidly, incorporating more and more sensors, and receiving more and more autonomy, the interaction with their users has become more delicate than ever before. Users are increasingly starting to demand that computing devices should understand them. Bringing affective processes into AI is said to be the field’s missing link. ASP can play a crucial role in this process. ASP-based technology will prove to be invaluable in supporting our health and well-being. However, the field’s progress lays far behind science’s (initial) expectations and results are disappointing. This monograph has explored several of ASP’s dimensions and as such contributed to the existing body of knowledge. Additionally, a set of guidelines has been presented to provide a concise set of research methods and standards to the field of ASP. I hope these guidelines may boost the field’s progress.

With this monograph representing the work of just a few years, only a humble step has been made. But now that ASP has both academics’ and industry’s attention, its progress will be accelerated. Perhaps with the lessons learned throughout this monograph and the guidelines it provides, this book will become a reference for ASP and aid its research and development. Then, in time, its progress will prove difficult to stop and a new landscape will arise for humanity in which even ethical concerns will need to be redefined to retain their value. Today this may all sound like science fiction; however, there will be a tomorrow in which it will not, in which our being will be redefined and perhaps this tomorrow will come even sooner than we may now expect.

Undoubtedly, in time, the progress of ASP will prove to be difficult to stop. ASP will (possibly) unnoticeably penetrate our everyday lives. Agents and avatars augmented with ASP will support us in our work, will increase our level of mindfulness, and improve the quality or our lives. And, as envisioned, ASP will prove to be the essential key in the fusion of man and his technology. More importantly, hopefully it can also serve as an interface to help people understanding each other, to help them see what they have in common instead of staring at their differences.

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