“Hey Google, Do Unicorns Exist?”: Children Finding Answers Through Conversational Agents

Lovato, Silvia B

doi:https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-ggba-2046

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“Hey Google, Do Unicorns Exist?”: Children Finding Answers Through Conversational Agents

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Children are known to be curious and persistent question-askers. The pervasiveness of voice interfaces represents an opportunity for children who are still learning to read and write to independently search the Internet by directing questions at conversational agents such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and the Google Assistant. However, little research exists on how children’s use of these agents and children’s conceptual understanding of them. Through a two-week, in-home deployment involving 40 families (children aged 5-8 and their parents), this study offers a description of how early elementary school-aged children ask questions of a conversational agent (the Google Assistant). Through analysis of the usage logs associated with the smart speakers, I report on how often children’s questions are transcribed correctly by the technology, how often they receive an answer addressing their question and which questions children choose to ask the conversational agent. Based on log data supplemented by interviews before and after the deployment, I discuss challenges in use and children’s perceptions of the technology. Although about 90% of children’s questions are transcribed correctly, the system only offers answers that address the questions about half of the time. Most of children’s questions are about topics related to culture and science, demonstrating that children choose to use this technology to ask about the world around them. I offer directions for future research and 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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