Elderly’s Perceptions of a Meaningful Interaction with Voice-Based Conversational Agents: Integrate into daily routines, Support relatedness, But do not hamper autonomy

Abstract

Voice, as one of the most natural means of communication for the elderly given their declining physical and cognitive abilities, has the potential to reduce interaction barriers with newly emerging technologies. In parallel to this, studies focusing on the elderly as a user group have escalated in academia due to events such as the increasing ageing population and global epidemics like COVID-19. However, the focus has been mostly on their declining mental and physical abilities. This paper aims to investigate the hedonic aspects of Voice-based Conversational Agents (VCAs) for the elderly. In this respect, we conducted in-depth interviews with 13 participants, 9 of whom were elderly over the age of 75, and 4 of whom were caregivers, to examine the daily life practices and values of the elderly together with possibilities of VCAs to create positive experiences in their lives. This paper presents the perspectives of the elderly on VCAs by taking into consideration their perspectives on life and technology. In the end, the paper makes suggestions on which design decisions can support the positive hedonic aspects in the lives of the elderly. Our main finding shows that VCAs can provide a positive experience for the elderly beyond a pragmatic approach if they can be integrated into their daily routines and increase their relatedness with people without harming the areas where they feel competence and autonomy.