Designing Ethical AI Grief Support: A Value Sensitive Design Framework for Chronic Illness Care

Chronic illness precipitates numerous challenges, often leading to a multifaceted grieving process that affects both patients and caregivers. Traditional grief management approaches, such as counseling, support groups, and medication, often fall short of providing immediate and personalized support. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, particularly AI-driven chatbots, offers promising enhancements for grief support. However, ethical considerations must be addressed to ensure effective and responsible implementation. This study examines the application of AI-driven chatbots in managing grief among individuals with chronic illness, using Alzheimer's disease as a specific case study. Through the application of the value sensitive design (VSD) framework and the dual process model of grief, this study analyzes how human values manifest in the grieving process and how they should be incorporated into chatbot design. Our empirical analysis of existing AI-driven chatbots, combined with expert validation from healthcare professionals, reveals significant patterns and gaps in current approaches to digital grief support.