We investigate factors that influence equity, diversity, and inclusion in the design and use of voice digital assistants (VDAs). Although current VDAs allow users to select from voice options which include gender, accent, and language, voice characteristics signaling race and ethnicity are typically not available options for voice interfaces; and thus, are excluded within current voice interface design. In this study, participants completed an online survey in which they evaluated 10 images which varied by race, gender, ethnicity, and religion. Their task was to indicate which image(s) they would select to represent the embodied voice interface of their VDA. The results indicated that the perceived gender, race, and ethnicity of the VDA influenced the participants’ voice interface preferences with Black and Muslim male images the least preferred and a young White female image the most preferred. We discuss our results in the context of embodied voice interfaces for VDAs with the goal to increase diversity and inclusivity.
Proceedings of the 17th Annual Social Informatics Research Symposium and the 3rd Annual Information Ethics and Policy Workshop at the 84th Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology
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