  When we consult with a doctor, lawyer, or financial advisor, we generally
assume that they are acting in our best interests. But what should we assume
when it is an artificial intelligence (AI) system that is acting on our behalf?
Early examples of AI assistants like Alexa, Siri, Google, and Cortana already
serve as a key interface between consumers and information on the web, and
users routinely rely upon AI-driven systems like these to take automated
actions or provide information. Superficially, such systems may appear to be
acting according to user interests. However, many AI systems are designed with
embedded conflicts of interests, acting in ways that subtly benefit their
creators (or funders) at the expense of users. To address this problem, in this
paper we introduce the concept of AI loyalty. AI systems are loyal to the
degree that they are designed to minimize, and make transparent, conflicts of
interest, and to act in ways that prioritize the interests of users. Properly
designed, such systems could have considerable functional and competitive - not
to mention ethical - advantages relative to those that do not. Loyal AI
products hold an obvious appeal for the end-user and could serve to promote the
alignment of the long-term interests of AI developers and customers. To this
end, we suggest criteria for assessing whether an AI system is sufficiently
transparent about conflicts of interest, and acting in a manner that is loyal
to the user, and argue that AI loyalty should be considered during the
technological design process alongside other important values in AI ethics such
as fairness, accountability privacy, and equity. We discuss a range of
mechanisms, from pure market forces to strong regulatory frameworks, that could
support incorporation of AI loyalty into a variety of future AI systems.
