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Analysing the Use of Voice Assistants in Domestic Settings Through the Lens of Activity Theory

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Human-Computer Interaction (HCII 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14013))

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Abstract

The paper analyses the use of voice assistants in people’s homes through the lens of activity theory guided by concepts such as mental models, context, the relationship between subject and tool as well as contradictions. Activity theory sees conversational devices including voice assistants not as ends in themselves, but as tools to aid the performance of a particular activity or practice. After a brief overview of the use of activity theory in HCI research, the empirical data gathered in an interdisciplinary project on the use of voice-enabled technology are discussed with a focus on the contradictions that have emerged in the course of our study. Contradictions have emerged with respect to the traditional view of home as private, which clashes with the fact that voice assistants may transmit personal data to external bodies. Another contradiction relates to the gulf between people’s expectations of smartness and the current shortcomings of commercial voice assistants. Finally, the paper presents suggestions for how one might design conversational technology in a way that helps resolve those contradictions and cope with the emerging phenomena such as autonomous agents.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Swiss National Science Foundation under grant number SINERGIA CRSII5_189955.

  2. 2.

    See https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/11/google-ai-lamda-blake-lemoine).

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Acknowledgement

The research results presented in this paper are part of a project funded by Swiss National Science Foundation (http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001711) under grant number SINERGIA CRSII5_189955.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, St. Gallen, Switzerland

    Edith Maier & Ulrich Reimer

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  1. Edith Maier
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  2. Ulrich Reimer
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Correspondence to Ulrich Reimer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Open University of Japan, Chiba, Japan

    Masaaki Kurosu

  2. Hosei University, Tokyo, Japan

    Ayako Hashizume

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Maier, E., Reimer, U. (2023). Analysing the Use of Voice Assistants in Domestic Settings Through the Lens of Activity Theory. In: Kurosu, M., Hashizume, A. (eds) Human-Computer Interaction. HCII 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14013. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35602-5_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35602-5_26

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-35601-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-35602-5

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