The role of valence, dominance, and pitch in perceptions of artificial intelligence (AI) conversational agents' voices

Shiramizu, V. K. M. , Lee, A. J. , Altenburg, D., Feinberg, D. R. and Jones, B. C. (2022) The role of valence, dominance, and pitch in perceptions of artificial intelligence (AI) conversational agents' voices. Scientific Reports, 12, 22479. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-27124-8) (PMID:36577918) (PMCID:PMC9797498)

Abstract

There is growing concern that artificial intelligence conversational agents (e.g., Siri, Alexa) reinforce voice-based social stereotypes. Because little is known about social perceptions of conversational agents’ voices, we investigated (1) the dimensions that underpin perceptions of these synthetic voices and (2) the role that acoustic parameters play in these perceptions. Study 1 (N = 504) found that perceptions of synthetic voices are underpinned by Valence and Dominance components similar to those previously reported for natural human stimuli and that the Dominance component was strongly and negatively related to voice pitch. Study 2 (N = 160) found that experimentally manipulating pitch in synthetic voices directly influenced dominance-related, but not valence-related, perceptions. Collectively, these results suggest that greater consideration of the role that voice pitch plays in dominance-related perceptions when designing conversational agents may be an effective method for controlling stereotypic perceptions of their voices and the downstream consequences of those perceptions.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research was supported by the EPSRC grant ‘Designing Conversational Assistants to Reduce Gender Bias’ (EP/T023783/1), awarded to Benedict Jones. Daria Altenburg was supported by Grant BOF.24Y.2019.0006.01 of Ghent University, awarded to Adriaan Spruyt.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Jones, Professor Benedict and Lee, Dr Anthony and Shiramizu, Dr Victor
• Authors: Shiramizu, V. K. M., Lee, A. J., Altenburg, D., Feinberg, D. R., and Jones, B. C.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
• Journal Name: Scientific Reports
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• ISSN (Online): 2045-2322
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Scientific Reports 12: 22479
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License
• Data DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/4ZGRF