2024/05/13 by Smit Desai, Desai, Smit, Mateusz Dubiel +3 · 2 citations
Computer Science · #Digital Communication and Language #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Human-Computer Interaction (cs.HC) #Speech and dialogue systems
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2405.07458
openalex publication_date 2024/05/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Voice User Interfaces (VUIs) increasingly leverage 'humanness' as a foundational design metaphor, adopting roles like 'assistants,' 'teachers,' and 'secretaries' to foster natural interactions. Yet, this approach can sometimes misalign user trust and reinforce societal stereotypes, leading to socio-technical challenges that might impede long-term engagement. This paper explores an alternative approach to navigate these challenges-incorporating non-human metaphors in VUI design. We report on a study with 240 participants examining the effects of human versus non-human metaphors on user perceptions within health and finance domains. Results indicate a preference for the human metaphor (doctor) over the non-human (health encyclopedia) in health contexts for its perceived enjoyability and likeability. In finance, however, user perceptions do not significantly differ between human (financial advisor) and non-human (calculator) metaphors. Importantly, our research reveals that the explicit awareness of a metaphor's use influences adoption intentions, with a marked preference for non-human metaphors when their metaphorical nature is not disclosed. These findings highlight context-specific conversation design strategies required in integrating non-human metaphors into VUI design, suggesting tradeoffs and design considerations that could enhance user engagement and adoption.