Authors:
Tatsuki Hori
1
and
Kazuki Kobayashi
2
Affiliations:
1
Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Nagano 380-8553, Japan
;
2
Academic Assembly, Shinshu University, Nagano 380-8553, Japan
Keyword(s):
Conversational Agents, Experiment, Voice Interfaces, User Experiences.
Abstract:
In this study, we propose a method to shift an agent’s personality during speech interaction to reduce users’ negative impressions of speech recognition systems when speech recognition fails. Although spoken dialog interfaces, such as smart speakers, have emerged to support our daily lives and the accuracy of speech recognition has improved, users are burden with rephrasing commands for these systems because they fail. Speech recognition failure makes users uncomfortable, and the cognitive strain in rephrasing commands is high. The proposed method aims to eliminate users’ negative impression of agents by allowing an agent to have multiple personalities and accept responsibility for the failure, with the personality responsible for failure being removed from the task. System hardware remains the same, and users can continue to interact with another personality of the agent. Shifting the agent’s personality is represented by a change in voice tone and LED color. Experimental results wi
th 20 participants suggested that the proposed method reduces users’ negative impressions by improving communication between users and the agent, as well as the agent’s sense of responsibility, and that users felt that the agent have emotions.
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