AUTHOR=Carolus Astrid , Wienrich Carolin 

TITLE=“Imagine this smart speaker to have a body”: An analysis of the external appearances and the characteristics that people associate with voice assistants

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Computer Science

VOLUME=Volume 4 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/computer-science/articles/10.3389/fcomp.2022.981435

DOI=10.3389/fcomp.2022.981435

ISSN=2624-9898

ABSTRACT=Modern digital devices such as conversational agents simulate human-human interaction to an increasing extent. However, their outward appearance remains distinctly technological. While research revealed that mental representations of technology shape users’ expectations and experiences, research on technology sending ambiguous cues is rare. To bridge this gap, this study analyzes drawings of the outward appearance participants associate with voice assistants (Amazon Echo or Google Home). Human beings and (humanoid) robots were the most frequent associations, which were rated to be rather trustworthy, conscientious, agreeable and intelligent. Drawings of Echos and Google Homes differed marginally but ‘human’, ‘robotic’ and ‘other’ associations differed regarding, e.g., ascribed humanness, consciousness, intellect, affinity to technology and innovation ability. This study aims to further elaborate on the rather unconscious cognitive and emotional processes elicited by technology and discusses the implications of this perspective for developers, users and researchers