Journal article icon

Journal article : Review

Privacy, ethics, transparency, and accountability in AI systems for wearable devices

Abstract:
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into wearable sensor technologies has substantially advanced health data science, enabling continuous monitoring, personalised interventions, and predictive analytics. However, the fast advancement of these technologies has raised critical ethical and regulatory concerns, particularly around data privacy, algorithmic bias, informed consent, and the opacity of automated decision-making. This study undertakes a systematic examination of these challenges, highlighting the risks posed by unregulated data aggregation, biased model training, and inadequate transparency in AI-powered health applications. Through an analysis of current privacy frameworks and empirical assessment of publicly available datasets, the study identifies significant disparities in model performance across demographic groups and exposes vulnerabilities in both technical design and ethical governance. To address these issues, this article introduces a data-driven methodological framework that embeds transparency, accountability, and regulatory alignment across all stages of AI development. The framework operationalises ethical principles through concrete mechanisms, including explainable AI, bias mitigation techniques, and consent-aware data processing pipelines, while aligning with legal standards such as the GDPR, the UK Data Protection Act, and the EU AI Act. By incorporating transparency as a structural and procedural requirement, the framework presented in this article offers a replicable model for the responsible development of AI systems in wearable healthcare. In doing so, the study advocates for a regulatory paradigm that balances technological innovation with the protection of individual rights, fostering fair, secure, and trustworthy AI-driven health monitoring.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

Actions


Access Document


Files:
Publisher copy:
10.3389/fdgth.2025.1431246

Authors


More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Computer Science
Sub department:
Computer Science
Role:
Author


Publisher:
Frontiers Media
Journal:
Frontiers in Digital Health More from this journal
Volume:
7
Article number:
1431246
Publication date:
2025-06-17
Acceptance date:
2025-05-26
DOI:
EISSN:
2673-253X


Language:
English
Keywords:
Subtype:
Review
Source identifiers:
3067309
Deposit date:
2025-07-01
This ORA record was generated from metadata provided by an external service. It has not been edited by the ORA Team.

Terms of use



Views and Downloads






If you are the owner of this record, you can report an update to it here: Report update to this record

TO TOP