White Elephant or Happiness Goodies? The Effect of User Personality on the Perception of Digital Companionship of Smart Speaker

Abstract

With the popularity of smart speakers, companionship has emerged as an important aspect of user experiences with these devices. While previous studies have primarily focused on users’ adoption and intentions for continuous AI product usage, only a limited number of qualitative studies have identified the nascent concept of digital companionship. However, these studies often lack a comprehensive elucidation of the underlying psychological motivations. Therefore, this study aims to explore how certain users perceive digital companionship within the context of smart speakers and elucidate the motivations driving these parasocial needs. Our investigation adopts a Human-Centered AI perspective for a deeper understanding. A survey was conducted, encompassing 460 valid questionnaires. The findings underscore the influence of user personality on their psychological perceptions of smart speakers. Specifically, extroverted and conscientious users tend to view smart speakers as sources of happiness, akin to “happiness goodies.” Conversely, other users tend to perceive the companionship of smart speakers less strongly, akin to “white elephants.” Notably, our research reveals that perceived attraction and intimacy jointly mediate the influence of user personality traits, including extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, on digital companionship. This study contributes to illustrating why AI-based products, such as smart speakers, could be regarded as friends by digital companionship. Furthermore, it holds practical implications for personalizing AI roles and building trustworthy AI.

Keywords:

• Smart speakers
• personality
• digital companionship
• perceived attraction
• intimacy

Acknowledgments

The researchers acknowledge the generous financial and administrative support from the institutions and their staff.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [72174164] and National Social Science Foundation of China (Major program) [21&ZD320]. This research project received also funding from Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s USC-SJTU Institute of Cultural and Creative Industry, and from Zizhu National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, via the Zizhu New Media Management Research Center and the International Association of Cultural and Creative Industry Research.

Notes on contributors

Xiaoyue Ma

Xiaoyue Ma, professor at the School of Journalism and New Media, Xi’an Jiaotong University. She has been studying for Human-AI Interaction, Cyberpsychology, and information analysis on the new media.

Yudi Huo

Yudi Huo, postgraduate student at the School of Journalism and New Media, Xi’an Jiaotong University. Her research interests focus on the analysis of user psychological perceptions and behaviors in Human-AI Interaction.