Should Alexa be a Police Officer, a Doctor, or a Priest?: Towards CUI Relationships Worth Having

Abstract

Would you trust your gossiping nosey neighbour to look after your house while you are away? Despite being sold the idea of a conversational user interface (CUI) as a trustworthy, helpful, and non-judgmental mate, the reality that many CUI users face is a relationship characterised by uncertainty and volatility, owing to the CUI's ambiguous social role. To escape the Weisserian nightmare of the ubiquitous, ambiguous, and manipulative CUI, we must first consider the social roles and relationships we encounter every day and use those as models for how future CUIs can be built.