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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Voice-Based Agents As Personified Things: Assimilation And Accommodation As Equilibration Of Doubt, Katrin Etzrodt, Sven Engesser
Voice-Based Agents As Personified Things: Assimilation And Accommodation As Equilibration Of Doubt, Katrin Etzrodt, Sven Engesser
Human-Machine Communication
We aim to investigate the nature of doubt regarding voice-based agents by referring to Piaget’s ontological object–subject classification “thing” and “person,” its associated equilibration processes, and influential factors of the situation, the user, and the agent. In two online surveys, we asked 853 and 435 participants, ranging from 17 to 65 years of age, to assess Alexa and the Google Assistant. We discovered that only some people viewed voice-based agents as mere things, whereas the majority classified them into personified things. However, their classification is fragile and depends basically on the imputation of subject-like attributes of agency and mind to …
Ontological Boundaries Between Humans And Computers And The Implications For Human-Machine Communication, Andrea L. Guzman
Ontological Boundaries Between Humans And Computers And The Implications For Human-Machine Communication, Andrea L. Guzman
Human-Machine Communication
In human-machine communication, people interact with a communication partner that is of a different ontological nature from themselves. This study examines how people conceptualize ontological differences between humans and computers and the implications of these differences for human-machine communication. Findings based on data from qualitative interviews with 73 U.S. adults regarding disembodied artificial intelligence (AI) technologies (voice-based AI assistants, automated-writing software) show that people differentiate between humans and computers based on origin of being, degree of autonomy, status as tool/tool-user, level of intelligence, emotional capabilities, and inherent flaws. In addition, these ontological boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred as technologies emulate …