A Framework for Addressing the Risks and Opportunities In AI-Supported
  Virtual Health Coaches
  Virtual coaching has rapidly evolved into a foundational component of modern
clinical practice. At a time when healthcare professionals are in short supply
and the demand for low-cost treatments is ever-increasing, virtual health
coaches (VHCs) offer intervention-on-demand for those limited by finances or
geographic access to care. More recently, AI-powered virtual coaches have
become a viable complement to human coaches. However, the push for AI-powered
coaching systems raises several important issues for researchers, designers,
clinicians, and patients. In this paper, we present a novel framework to guide
the design and development of virtual coaching systems. This framework augments
a traditional data science pipeline with four key guiding goals: reliability,
fairness, engagement, and ethics.
