An Empirical Study on Expectation of Relationship Between Human and Smart Devices—With Smart Speaker as an Example
Shilong Wu, Sinan He, Peng Yu, Weiying Li, Moli Zhou, Daisong Guan · 2019
Artificial smart devices, represented by smart speakers, are entering Chinese families increasingly. AI technology allows people to interact with them in a natural way, such as spontaneous dialogue, and also makes people generate anthropomorphic associations with them. This is an important feature that distinguishes AI from PC and the mobile age. And what role and relationship do the smart devices fit into people's daily life has become an issue to be discussed. We combined questionnaires and focus groups to investigate the mainstream smart speakers on the market in China. We found that the users' expectative relationships with smart devices are assistants (51.3%) and friends (48.7%). And there is still a gap between actual perceptions and expectations of smart speakers. This article also discusses the ways to bridge the gap.