The article emphasizes that overcoming the "creepiness factor" is crucial for the successful integration of smart technologies into our daily lives. It suggests that vendors can achieve this by offering users insights into the inner workings of SHAs and integrating tangible features into SHA designs. This would help in building trust, fostering broad acceptance, and ensuring that smart technologies seamlessly blend into our lives without inducing creepy feelings.
Key takeaways:
- Perceived creepiness acts as a substantial roadblock to consumer acceptance and utilization of Smart Home Assistants (SHAs), according to a paper published in the International Journal of Information Management.
- One of the key findings of the paper is the importance of transparency in SHA design. A lack of transparency can breed perceived creepiness and resistance toward SHAs.
- The authors also highlight the importance of the materiality of these devices. The absence of tangible elements can trigger negative perceptions and hinder acceptance.
- To overcome the challenge of perceived creepiness, vendors must offer users insights into the inner workings of SHAs and integrate tangible features into SHA designs.