Alexa, I Do Not Want to Be Patronized! A Qualitative Interview Study to Explore Older Adults’ Attitudes Towards Intelligent Voice Assistants

Abstract

Intelligent voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Home enable individuals who would otherwise be excluded to access the Internet. For instance, older adults have difficulties operating certain interfaces such as a computer or smartphone because of physical or mental constraints. Due to their intuitive, speech-based control in dialogue form, voice assistants hold the potential to assist older adults and promote their independence. However, for a successful adoption, the technology needs to be accepted and trusted by the target group. With the aim to explore older adults’ attitudes towards intelligent voice assistants, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 adults between 65 and 86 years. The interviews included a wizard-of-oz interaction with a voice assistant and a vignette describing a scenario in which the voice assistant appears to be eavesdropping. On the one hand, the interviewees evaluated the voice assistant as useful, easy to comprehend, and pleasant. On the other hand, they voiced general data protection concerns, fears of being overheard and observed as well as a strong aversion to unprompted recommendations and advertisement. Most strikingly, fears of being patronized or manipulated by the voice assistant were mentioned frequently, which was justified by a strong need to maintain independence – particularly with advancing age.