As Extended Reality (XR) transitions from specialized domains into domestic settings, industry narratives envision a future of seamless, ubiquitous integration. Yet these imaginaries, largely shaped by Western contexts, often overlook the complex social organization and material constraints of diverse households. To address this gap, we examined how individuals in Singapore interpret XR in everyday life. Using value scenarios as sociotechnical imaginaries, we conducted a survey (N = 206) and interviews (N = 22). We identify two layers of mental models: (1) perceived immersion and (2) XR’s roles in domestic life. Through these models, participants conceptualized XR as a situational fix for overcoming spatial, temporal, or relational constraints, or as an enabling medium for connection, expression, and wellbeing. We argue for a shift from functional optimization to relational maintenance, and propose design considerations for XR as an episodic, situational utility that supports the home.

This study evaluates conversational behavior among participants who engaged in conversations with a chatbot or a human support provider. By analyzing 1,232 utterances in the 114 supportive conversations collected from an experiment involving different conditions of chatbots (expert vs. novice bot; high vs. low contingent bot) and a human support provider, the study discovered five conversational sequences, including the extended work-up, the prototypical, the extended delivery, early conclusion, and the close implicature sequence. Comparing human and chatbot conversations, the results showed that conversations with humans were most likely to follow the extended delivery sequence that involved extensive description of the problem, compared to any chatbot conditions. The primary difference between chatbot conditions was that participants were less likely to engage in delivery behavior involving a description of the problem when interacting with the expert chatbot than with the novice chatbot. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Fear of artificial intelligence (AI) has become a predominant term in users’ perceptions of emerging AI technologies. Yet we have limited knowledge about how end users perceive different types of fear of AI (e.g., fear of artificial consciousness, fear of job replacement) and what affordances of AI technologies may induce such fears. We conducted a survey (N = 717) and found that while synchronicity generally helps reduce all types of fear of AI, perceived AI control increases all types of AI fear. We also found that perceived bandwidth was positively associated with fear of artificial consciousness, but negatively associated with fear of learning about AI, among other findings. Our study provides theoretical implications by adopting a multi-dimensional fear of AI framework and analyzing the unique effects of perceived affordances of AI applications on each type of fear. We also provide practical suggestions on how fear of AI might be reduced via user experience design.

Artificial intelligence (AI) applications have become an integral part of our society. However, studying AI as one entity or studying idiosyncratic applications separately both have limitations. Thus, this study used computational methods to categorize ten different AI roles prevalent in our everyday life and compared laypeople’s perceptions of them using online survey data (N = 727). Based on theoretical factors related to the fundamental nature of AI, the principal component analysis revealed two dimensions that categorize AI: human involvement and AI autonomy. K-means clustering identified four AI role clusters: tools (low in both dimensions), servants (high human involvement and low AI autonomy), assistants (low human involvement and high AI autonomy), and mediators (high in both dimensions). Multivariate analyses of covariances revealed that people assessed AI mediators the most and AI tools the least favorably. Demographics also influenced laypeople’s assessments of AI. The implications of these results are discussed.

The emerging uptake of AI chatbots for social support entails systematic comparisons between human and non-human entities as sources of support. In a between-subject experimental study, a human and two types of ostensible chatbots (using a wizard of oz design) had supportive conversations with college students who were experiencing stressful situations during the pandemic. We found that when compared with a less ideal chatbot (i.e., low-contingent chatbot), (1) the human support provider was perceived with more warmth, which directly reduced emotional distress among participants; (2) the ideal chatbot (i.e., high-contingent chatbot) was perceived to be more competent, which activated participants' cognitive reappraisal of their stressful situations and subsequently reduced emotional distress. The human provider and the ideal chatbot did not differ in users' perceived competence or warmth, although the human provider was more effective at activating participants' cognitive reappraisal. This study integrates human communication theories into human-computer interaction work and contributes by positioning and theorizing user perceptions of chatbots in a larger process from support sources with varying communication competence to users' cognitive and emotional responses, and ultimately to the stress outcome. Theoretical and design implications are discussed.

Minjin Rheua*, Ji Youn Shina, Wei Penga & Jina Huh-Yooba Media and Information, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USAb Department of Information Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USAMinjin Rheu is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University. Her research delves into how specific designs or features of communication technology influences users’ motivational and cognitive processes through which people change or adopt their health and prosocial behaviors.Ji Youn Shin is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University. Her research includes human-computer interaction, human-centered design, and health communication. She designs and evaluates technologies for supporting individuals’ health and wellness in various health contexts, including family caregiving and pediatric chronic illnesses.Wei Peng is a Professor in the Department of Media and Information, Michigan State University. Her research focuses on the psychological and social mechanisms of behavior change and their application in the design of interactive media for health and wellness promotion.Jina Huh-Yoo is an Assistant Professor of Human-Computer Interaction at Drexel University's College of Computing & Informatics. Her research areas include human-computer interaction, health informatics, and research ethics of health informatics technologies. She was a PI of NIH and NSF-funded projects in promoting health and wellness through consumer-facing technologies.CONTACT Minjin Rheu [email protected] Media and Information, Michigan State University, 404 Wilson Rd, Room 414, East Lansing, MI 48823, USAABSTRACTOff-the-shelf conversational agents are permeating people’s everyday lives. In these artificial intelligence devices, trust plays a key role in users’ initial adoption and successful utilization. Factors enhancing trust toward conversational agents include appearances, voice features, and communication styles. Synthesizing such work will be useful in designing evidence-based, trustworthy conversational agents appropriate for various contexts. We conducted a systematic review of the experimental studies that investigated the effect of conversational agents’ and users’ characteristics on trust. From a full-text review of 29 articles, we identified five agent design-themes affecting trust toward conversational agents: social intelligence of the agent, voice characteristics and communication style, look of the agent, non-verbal communication, and performance quality. We also found that participants’ demographic, personality, or use context moderate the effect of these themes. We discuss implications for designing trustworthy conversational agents and responsibilities around on stereotypes and social norm building through agent design.

Diverse fields, including CSCW, Communication, and Human Development studies, have investigated how technologies can better support parent-child relationships. While these studies are scattered across literature, little effort has been made to synthesize the findings. We conducted a review of studies that examined the factors associated with parent-child relationships that are mediated by technologies. Specifically, we synthesized previous studies based on children's age groups and different family contexts, including cohabitation. From a total of 12,942 search results from two databases, and 32 results from the hand-searching process, we conducted a full-text review of 190 articles and identified 19 suitable studies. An additional search during the revision cycle resulted in 6 more full-text reviews and 1 additional study being included in the data analysis. We analyzed challenges and facilitators in designing CSCW systems supporting parent-child relationships for families living together or apart and families with children of different developmental stages. Findings showed two common challenges, which should be addressed in technology designed to support parent-child relationships: discrepancies in expected communication between parents and child(ren) and the complex emotions of parents toward parenting caused by their busy schedules. Challenges specific to families who are living apart included consequences from being physically distant and having limited access to communication resources. The following factors commonly helped facilitate parent-child relationships: (1) reciprocity norms of the family (2) reinforcement of transparency, affection, and trust, (3) a physical proxy of each other through an object or interface design, (4) accessibility, the sophistication level of technology, and communication resources, (5) enjoyable, age-appropriate shared content among parents and children, and (6) situational awareness and routine as ways to increase parent-child relationships. Media richness and synchronicity in system design and privacy preservation without interruption facilitated parent-child relationships of families living apart. Based on the findings, we discuss opportunities for technological innovation for physically co-located families and the importance of considering children's age and developmental stages in designing technology for parent-child relationships.