research-article

Effects of Wording and Gendered Voices on Acceptability of Voice Assistants in Future Autonomous Vehicles

Authors:

Maria Jose Galvez Trigo,

Gary BurnettAuthors Info & Claims

CUI '22: Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Conversational User Interfaces

Article No.: 24, Pages 1 - 11

https://doi.org/10.1145/3543829.3543836

Published: 15 September 2022 Publication History

Abstract

Voice assistants in future autonomous vehicles may play a major role in supporting the driver during periods of a transfer of control with the vehicle (handover and handback). However, little is known about the effects of different qualities of the voice assistant on its perceived acceptability, and thus its potential to support the driver’s trust in the vehicle. A desktop study was carried out with 18 participants, investigating the effects of three gendered voices and different wording of prompts during handover and handback driving scenarios on measures of acceptability. Participants rated prompts by the voice assistant in nine different driving scenarios, using 5-point Likert style items in a during and post-study questionnaire as well as a short interview at the end. A commanding/formally worded prompt was rated higher on most of the desirable measures of acceptability as compared to an informally worded prompt. The ‘Matthew’ voice used was perceived to be less artificial and more desirable than the ‘Joanna’ voice and the gender-ambiguous ‘Jordan’ voice; however, we caution against interpreting these results as indicative of a general preference of gender, and instead discuss our results to throw light on the complex socio-phonetic nature of voices (including gender) and wording of voice assistants, and the need for careful consideration while designing the same. Results gained facilitate the drawing of insights needed to take better care when designing the voice and wording for voice assistants in future autonomous vehicles.

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Cited By

Chu AHuang G(2024)The Intersection of Voice Assistants and Autonomous Vehicles: A Scoping ReviewProceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting10.1177/10711813241275908Online publication date: 29-Aug-2024
https://doi.org/10.1177/10711813241275908
Edwards Jde Araujo ADesai Sde Wit JCandello HRough DClark LRoberts ACowan B(2024)EduCUI: The First International Workshop for Conversational User Interfaces in EducationProceedings of the 6th ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces10.1145/3640794.3669997(1-4)Online publication date: 8-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3640794.3669997
Bremers AFriedman NLee SWu TLaurier EJung MOrtiz JJu W(2024)(Social) Trouble on the Road: Understanding and Addressing Social Discomfort in Shared Car TripsProceedings of the 6th ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces10.1145/3640794.3665580(1-13)Online publication date: 8-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3640794.3665580
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

Effects of Wording and Gendered Voices on Acceptability of Voice Assistants in Future Autonomous Vehicles
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Empirical studies in HCI

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CUI '22: Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Conversational User Interfaces

July 2022

289 pages

ISBN:9781450397391

DOI:10.1145/3543829

Copyright © 2022 ACM.

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Published: 15 September 2022

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CUI 2022

CUI 2022: 4th Conference on Conversational User Interfaces

July 26 - 28, 2022

Glasgow, United Kingdom

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CUI '22 Paper Acceptance Rate 12 of 33 submissions, 36%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 34 of 100 submissions, 34%

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Chu AHuang G(2024)The Intersection of Voice Assistants and Autonomous Vehicles: A Scoping ReviewProceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting10.1177/10711813241275908Online publication date: 29-Aug-2024
https://doi.org/10.1177/10711813241275908
Edwards Jde Araujo ADesai Sde Wit JCandello HRough DClark LRoberts ACowan B(2024)EduCUI: The First International Workshop for Conversational User Interfaces in EducationProceedings of the 6th ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces10.1145/3640794.3669997(1-4)Online publication date: 8-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3640794.3669997
Bremers AFriedman NLee SWu TLaurier EJung MOrtiz JJu W(2024)(Social) Trouble on the Road: Understanding and Addressing Social Discomfort in Shared Car TripsProceedings of the 6th ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces10.1145/3640794.3665580(1-13)Online publication date: 8-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3640794.3665580
Pias SHuang RWilliamson DKim MKapadia A(2024)The Impact of Perceived Tone, Age, and Gender on Voice Assistant Persuasiveness in the Context of Product RecommendationsProceedings of the 6th ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces10.1145/3640794.3665545(1-15)Online publication date: 8-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3640794.3665545
Rege ACurrano RSirkin DKim E(2024)‘Talking with your Car’: Design of Human-Centered Conversational AI in Autonomous VehiclesProceedings of the 16th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications10.1145/3640792.3675713(338-349)Online publication date: 22-Sep-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3640792.3675713
Chin JDesai SLin SMejia S(2024)Like My Aunt Dorothy: Effects of Conversational Styles on Perceptions, Acceptance and Metaphorical Descriptions of Voice Assistants during Later AdulthoodProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36373658:CSCW1(1-21)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3637365
Seymour WZhan XCote MSuch J(2023)Who are CUIs Really For? Representation and Accessibility in the Conversational User Interface LiteratureProceedings of the 5th International Conference on Conversational User Interfaces10.1145/3571884.3603760(1-5)Online publication date: 19-Jul-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3571884.3603760
Zhan XXu YSarkadi S(2023)Deceptive AI Ecosystems: The Case of ChatGPTProceedings of the 5th International Conference on Conversational User Interfaces10.1145/3571884.3603754(1-6)Online publication date: 19-Jul-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3571884.3603754
Wei CKim YKuzminykh A(2023)The Bot on Speaking Terms: The Effects of Conversation Architecture on Perceptions of Conversational AgentsProceedings of the 5th International Conference on Conversational User Interfaces10.1145/3571884.3597139(1-16)Online publication date: 19-Jul-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3571884.3597139

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