Embodied Conversational Agents: Trust, Deception and the Suspension of Disbelief

Matthew Peter Aylett; Mei Yii Lim; Katerina Pappa; Bruce W. Wilson; Ruth Aylett; Mario Parra

doi:10.1145/3597512.3597526

Embodied Conversational Agents: Trust, Deception and the Suspension of Disbelief

Matthew Peter Aylett
, Mei Yii Lim
, Katerina Pappa
, Bruce W. Wilson
, Ruth Aylett
, Mario Parra

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Building trust is often cited as important for the success of a service or application. When part of the system is an embodied conversational agent (ECA), the design of the ECA has an impact on a user’s trust. In this paper we discuss whether designing an ECA for trust also means designing an ECA to give a false impression of sentience, whether such an implicit deception can undermine a sense of trust, and the impact such a design process may have on a vulnerable user group, in this case users living with dementia. We conclude by arguing that current trust metrics ignore the importance of a willing suspension of disbelief and its role in social computing.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	TAS '23: Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Print)	9798400707346
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3597512.3597526
Publication status	Published - 11 Jul 2023
Event	First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems 2023 - Edinburgh, United Kingdom Duration: 11 Jul 2023 → 12 Jul 2023 https://symposium.tas.ac.uk/

Conference

Conference	First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems 2023
Abbreviated title	TAS '23
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	Edinburgh
Period	11/07/23 → 12/07/23
Internet address	https://symposium.tas.ac.uk/

Keywords

deception
dementia
social agents
trust

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Human-Computer Interaction
Computer Networks and Communications
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Software

Access to Document

10.1145/3597512.3597526

Cite this

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title = "Embodied Conversational Agents: Trust, Deception and the Suspension of Disbelief",

abstract = "Building trust is often cited as important for the success of a service or application. When part of the system is an embodied conversational agent (ECA), the design of the ECA has an impact on a user{\textquoteright}s trust. In this paper we discuss whether designing an ECA for trust also means designing an ECA to give a false impression of sentience, whether such an implicit deception can undermine a sense of trust, and the impact such a design process may have on a vulnerable user group, in this case users living with dementia. We conclude by arguing that current trust metrics ignore the importance of a willing suspension of disbelief and its role in social computing.",

keywords = "deception, dementia, social agents, trust",

author = "Aylett, \{Matthew Peter\} and Lim, \{Mei Yii\} and Katerina Pappa and Wilson, \{Bruce W.\} and Ruth Aylett and Mario Parra",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 Owner/Author.; First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems 2023, TAS '23 ; Conference date: 11-07-2023 Through 12-07-2023",

year = "2023",

month = jul,

day = "11",

doi = "10.1145/3597512.3597526",

language = "English",

isbn = "9798400707346",

booktitle = "TAS '23: Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems",

publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery",

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}

Aylett, MP, Lim, MY, Pappa, K, Wilson, BW, Aylett, R & Parra, M 2023, Embodied Conversational Agents: Trust, Deception and the Suspension of Disbelief. in TAS '23: Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems., 46, Association for Computing Machinery, First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems 2023, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 11/07/23. https://doi.org/10.1145/3597512.3597526

Embodied Conversational Agents: Trust, Deception and the Suspension of Disbelief. / Aylett, Matthew Peter; Lim, Mei Yii; Pappa, Katerina et al.
TAS '23: Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems. Association for Computing Machinery, 2023. 46.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

TY - GEN

T1 - Embodied Conversational Agents: Trust, Deception and the Suspension of Disbelief

AU - Aylett, Matthew Peter

AU - Lim, Mei Yii

AU - Pappa, Katerina

AU - Wilson, Bruce W.

AU - Aylett, Ruth

AU - Parra, Mario

PY - 2023/7/11

Y1 - 2023/7/11

N2 - Building trust is often cited as important for the success of a service or application. When part of the system is an embodied conversational agent (ECA), the design of the ECA has an impact on a user’s trust. In this paper we discuss whether designing an ECA for trust also means designing an ECA to give a false impression of sentience, whether such an implicit deception can undermine a sense of trust, and the impact such a design process may have on a vulnerable user group, in this case users living with dementia. We conclude by arguing that current trust metrics ignore the importance of a willing suspension of disbelief and its role in social computing.

AB - Building trust is often cited as important for the success of a service or application. When part of the system is an embodied conversational agent (ECA), the design of the ECA has an impact on a user’s trust. In this paper we discuss whether designing an ECA for trust also means designing an ECA to give a false impression of sentience, whether such an implicit deception can undermine a sense of trust, and the impact such a design process may have on a vulnerable user group, in this case users living with dementia. We conclude by arguing that current trust metrics ignore the importance of a willing suspension of disbelief and its role in social computing.

KW - deception

KW - dementia

KW - social agents

KW - trust

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85167982220

U2 - 10.1145/3597512.3597526

DO - 10.1145/3597512.3597526

M3 - Conference contribution

SN - 9798400707346

BT - TAS '23: Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems

PB - Association for Computing Machinery

T2 - First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems 2023

Y2 - 11 July 2023 through 12 July 2023

ER -

Embodied Conversational Agents: Trust, Deception and the Suspension of Disbelief

Abstract

Conference

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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