Alexa, What Are You? Exploring Primary School Children’s Ontological Perceptions of Digital Voice Assistants in Open Interactions

Abstract

Today's children grow up in an environment that is increasingly characterized by digital voice assistants (DVAs), such as Alexa, Siri, or the Google Assistant. This paper argues that any attempt to investigate children's interactions with, and perceptions of, DVAs should be based on the theoretical grounds of an ontological framework that considers children's genuine understanding of what it means to be human and what it means to be a machine. Based on focus groups and a gamified data collection design, our empirical inquiry applied qualitative methods to explore primary school children's (n = 27, age range: 6-10 years, average age: 8.6 years) open interactions with DVAs. In particular, our focus was on how DVAs were embedded in children's general ontological belief system, and how children interpreted certain aspects of DVAs' interactive capabilities as being genuinely humanoid or non-humanoid. On the one hand, our findings suggest that children's interactions with DVAs might be more an end in itself than a means to an end, meaning that children primarily interact with DVAs for the sake of engaging excitement instead of using the devices' utilitarian functionalities. On the other hand, we found that children in our sample held firm ontological beliefs about the distinct nature of humans and machines, whilst interpreting certain aspects of DVAs' interactive capabilities as being genuinely humanoid (e.g., non-responsiveness, delayed responses, inaccuracy) and non-humanoid (e.g., permanent responsiveness, promptness, accuracy, limited conversational capacities, lack of common sense, standardized responses) at the same time.

Accommodating Communication With Conversational Agents: Examining The Perceptions and Behaviors of Older Adults When Using Voice Assistant Technology

“…To date, we have completed the study with 15 participants, and are enrolling an additional 15 participants for another 10-week session. Preliminary data analysis shows that user attitudes and behaviors both harden and evolve after interacting with CAs, supporting previous research (Guzman, 2019;Festerling & Siraj 2020). Complete results are anticipated by late summer 2021.…”

“…al, 2020). However, another study found that user perceptions of voice assistants were both reinforced and undercut by their interactions with the device (Festerling & Siraj, 2020). Similarly, as Guzman (2019) notes, user perceptions of voicebased technology diverge depending upon whether a user conceptualizes they are speaking to the assistant (software) or the technological device (hardware).…”

Who is more trustworthy, Alexa or mom?: Children’s selective trust in a digital age.

“…When the DVA does not respond to children's personified statements, questions or conversational pleasantries with like-minded statements, young children become visibly upset with the DVA, much like they would with a human. One reason for this behavior with digital informants is that some young children believe a human resides inside the device (Lovato et al, 2019) or that the device is controlled by a human (Festerling & Siraj, 2020), and thus try to ascribe human-like morals, values, and intentions to the devices. Such belief decreases as children age but nonetheless bears the question of ontology.…”

“…Recently, cognitive scientists tasked themselves with this question, investigating children's understanding of what it means to be a human versus what it means to be a machine (Festerling & Siraj, 2020). Analyzing interactions between DVAs and children between 6 and 10 years old, Festerling and Siraj (2020) report a robust ontological hierarchy with machines subservient to humans.…”

“…Recently, cognitive scientists tasked themselves with this question, investigating children's understanding of what it means to be a human versus what it means to be a machine (Festerling & Siraj, 2020). Analyzing interactions between DVAs and children between 6 and 10 years old, Festerling and Siraj (2020) report a robust ontological hierarchy with machines subservient to humans. They argue that despite children's personification of these devices, children do not feel obligated to interact with the devices in a morally respectable way, forgoing typical norms required for interaction with humans.…”