The disconnected become attached to voice
Voice tech is seamlessly seeping through our the pores of our lives and becoming an integral part of our most intimate moments — 72% of people who own a voice-activated speaker say their devices are often used as part of their daily routine (1).
For a good number of people, a voice assistant like Alexa helps to develop a healthier self-care routine, via specific skills such as guided meditation, quick workouts, daily inspirational quotes and gratitude journaling (2). For other, more vulnerable groups of people, however, voice assistants are starting to play an even more pivotal role in their daily lives.
These populations groups include:
· The elderly — for whom an assistant like Siri provides companionship and motivation to be more active (3).
· Inexperienced mothers of new-borns — receive guidance and advice in their most frustrating moments (4).
· People who are dealing with a break-up/divorce/death of a loved one — Alexa provides a sense of normalcy through companionship (10).
· People with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes — are better able to manage their health routines with a simple “Ok, Google” command (6).
· People who find themselves isolated and lonely for other reasons — instead of chatting with random airline bots late at night, now have a kind, familiar voice to turn to (7).
· People who work from home on a regular basis — lean on voice assistant to alleviate the feeling of isolation throughout their day.
· When people get sick and are stuck at home — they are comforted by voice assistants such as Cortana (6).
· Veterans — can also lean on voice assistants when dealing with PTSD symptoms and feelings of isolation (8).
· Introverts — gain a sense of unobtrusive companionship from a familiar voice.
The Turing test was developed in 1950 and tested a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human (9). We’ve now deemed this test irrelevant because we no longer even care if we are speaking to a machine or not (7). It doesn’t hurt of course that today’s voice assistants possess a certain kind of charming ability to further endear themselves to their users (10). For instance, people don’t just yell commands at their Siri, but instead chat and joke with her, establishing a familiar banter over time. Many describe their voice assistant as a friend or a member of the family, and some go as far as calling her their ‘best friend’ and ‘perfect spouse’, suggesting development of affection towards her (11). In fact, Amazon’s Alexa has now been modified to offer positive feedback in return to children who speak politely to her — chiming back with “Thanks for asking nicely. You’re welcome.” (12)
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The next frontier in this space is going to involve enriching our voice assistants with emotional intelligence. Once we achieve this, the possibilities are truly limitless. Imagine having longer and more meaningful conversations with your Siri. Envision having her respond intuitively to your most personal issues, providing encouragement in moments of despair and diagnosing physical and psychological diseases (10).
Although this may sound enticing, as it would indeed eradicate our world of loneliness, some caution needs to be taken into consideration when trying to integrate technology into treatment, especially for people who are prone to addiction, compulsion and depression (10). For instance, when people find themselves to be socially excluded, they compensate for the isolation in many ways, ranging from exaggerating their number of Facebook friends to proactively seeking out new activities that will expose them to socialising. When human-like products such as voice assistants are introduced into the equation, regular compensatory behaviours stop (13).
In short, proceed with caution.
1. https://alphametic.com/8-voice-search-statistics-that-are-too-crazy-to-ignore
2. https://www.bustle.com/p/9-self-care-practices-alexa-can-help-you-with-8019166
3. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/06/digital-assistants-could-alleviate-loneliness-elderly/
4. https://www.everydayfamily.com/blog/21-ways-amazon-alexa-can-help-you-parent/?gdprConsent=1
6. https://www.digitalhealth.net/2018/05/amazon-health-and-wellness-team-alexa/
8. https://gcn.com/articles/2017/03/09/ai-ehr-va-appointment-scheduling.aspx
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test
10. http://digg.com/2017/amazon-alexa-is-not-your-friend
