research-article

Hey Google, Do Unicorns Exist?: Conversational Agents as a Path to Answers to Children's Questions

Authors:

Silvia B. Lovato,

Anne Marie Piper,

Ellen A. WartellaAuthors Info & Claims

IDC '19: Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on Interaction Design and Children

Pages 301 - 313

https://doi.org/10.1145/3311927.3323150

Published: 12 June 2019 Publication History

Abstract

Children are known to be curious and persistent questionaskers. The pervasiveness of voice interfaces represents an opportunity for children who are not yet fluent readers to independently search the Internet by asking questions through conversational agents such as Amazon Alexa, Apple's Siri, and the Google Assistant. Through a two-week, in-home deployment study involving 18 families (children aged 5-6 and their parents), we report on which questions children choose to ask the conversational agent, the answers the agent provided, challenges in use, and their perceptions of the technology. Based on our analysis, we identify several considerations for the design of voice-based conversational agents that aim to support young children's question-asking behavior and subsequent development.

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Cited By

Yarozkaja LAleinikova D(2024)Lingvodidactic projection of the social and humanitarian sphere in the contour of artificial intelligence10.29039/978-5-94472-207-2-07-2024Online publication date: 8-Jul-2024
https://doi.org/10.29039/978-5-94472-207-2-07-2024
Ude NVo GPancratz N(2024)"Like a Real Human with Much More Knowledge" - A Phenomenon-oriented Investigation of Pre-instructional Conceptions in the Context of Artificial IntelligenceProceedings of the 24th Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research10.1145/3699538.3699555(1-9)Online publication date: 12-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3699538.3699555
Karunaratna SVargas-Diaz DKim JWang JChoi KLee SFarzan RLópez CCardoso Llach DQuercia DMustafa MNiu SWong-Villacrés M(2024)Evaluation of Interactive Demonstration in Voice-assisted Counting for Young ChildrenCompanion Publication of the 2024 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing10.1145/3678884.3681886(422-428)Online publication date: 11-Nov-2024
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Index Terms

Hey Google, Do Unicorns Exist?: Conversational Agents as a Path to Answers to Children's Questions
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Interaction devices
      1. Sound-based input / output

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cover image ACM Conferences

IDC '19: Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on Interaction Design and Children

June 2019

787 pages

ISBN:9781450366908

DOI:10.1145/3311927

General Chair:
Jerry Alan Fails
Boise State University, USA

Copyright © 2019 ACM.

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Published: 12 June 2019

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IDC '19

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SIGCHI

IDC '19: Interaction Design and Children

June 12 - 15, 2019

ID, Boise, USA

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IDC '19 Paper Acceptance Rate 41 of 124 submissions, 33%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 172 of 578 submissions, 30%

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Cited By

Yarozkaja LAleinikova D(2024)Lingvodidactic projection of the social and humanitarian sphere in the contour of artificial intelligence10.29039/978-5-94472-207-2-07-2024Online publication date: 8-Jul-2024
https://doi.org/10.29039/978-5-94472-207-2-07-2024
Ude NVo GPancratz N(2024)"Like a Real Human with Much More Knowledge" - A Phenomenon-oriented Investigation of Pre-instructional Conceptions in the Context of Artificial IntelligenceProceedings of the 24th Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research10.1145/3699538.3699555(1-9)Online publication date: 12-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3699538.3699555
Karunaratna SVargas-Diaz DKim JWang JChoi KLee SFarzan RLópez CCardoso Llach DQuercia DMustafa MNiu SWong-Villacrés M(2024)Evaluation of Interactive Demonstration in Voice-assisted Counting for Young ChildrenCompanion Publication of the 2024 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing10.1145/3678884.3681886(422-428)Online publication date: 11-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3678884.3681886
Chen SMarkopoulos PHu J(2024)SUStory: Usability Evaluation of Conversational Interfaces for Children with a Narrative on a Game BoardProceedings of the 6th ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces10.1145/3640794.3665565(1-6)Online publication date: 8-Jul-2024
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Sun KLi JZou YRadesky JBrooks CSchaub F(2024)Unfulfilled Promises of Child Safety and Privacy: Portrayals and Use of Children in Smart Home MarketingProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36374228:CSCW1(1-29)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
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Cai ZWei S(2024)From Viewers to Teachers: Child-Led Teaching Strategies and Family Participation in YouTube How-TosProceedings of the 23rd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference10.1145/3628516.3655821(396-407)Online publication date: 17-Jun-2024
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Quander KMilky TAponte NCaceres Carrascal NWoodward J(2024)“Are you smart?”: Children's Understanding of “Smart” TechnologiesProceedings of the 23rd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference10.1145/3628516.3655787(625-638)Online publication date: 17-Jun-2024
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He KLevine JCervera KOjeda-Ramirez SXu YWarschauer M(2024)A Home Study of Parent-Child Co-Reading with a Bilingual Conversational AgentExtended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613905.3650836(1-8)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Cassidy CFigueira IPark SKim JEdwards EBranham S(2024)Cuddling Up With a Print-Braille Book: How Intimacy and Access Shape Parents' Reading Practices with ChildrenProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642763(1-15)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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