It’s Not Her Fault: Trust through Anthropomorphism among Young Adult Amazon Alexa Users

Abstract
Voice assistants (VAs) like Amazon Alexa have been integrated into hundreds of millions of homes, despite persistent public distrust of the company. The current literature explains the spread of voice assistants despite the low levels of trust in big technology companies through users’ limited concern about or even resignation to surveillance. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews (n=16) we explore how young adult Alexa users make sense of continuing to use the VA while generally distrusting Amazon. We identify three strategies that participants use to manage distrust: separating the VA from the company through anthropomorphism, expressing digital resignation, and occasionally taking action, like moving Alexa away from a particular location or even unplugging it. We argue that these individual-level strategies allow users to integrate Alexa into domestic life, despite their concerns. We conclude by discussing the implications these individual choices have for personal privacy and the rapid expansion of surveillance technologies into intimate life.
osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/bkx3n/

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Ryan Watkins

Professor at George Washington University

I am a Professor with Human-Technology Collaboration and Educational Technology programs at George Washington University in Washington DC. I have written 12 books and more than 100 articles, and I co-host of the Parsing Science podcast where scientists tell the stories behind their research. I am also the developer of the WeShareScience.com online platform for sharing research videos, and SciencePods.com where researchers can create free podcasts about their science. My research interests include human interactions with intelligent machines, needs, needs assessments, and instructional design.