This document summarizes a presentation about designing voice personalities for artificial intelligence. It discusses how people naturally form social relationships and make character attributions even towards simple machines. Research shows that female voices, extroversion, and agreeableness are generally preferred traits. However, perpetuating stereotypes or allowing manipulation must be avoided. Guiding principles are proposed, such as crafting personalities with ethical values and giving users control over humanization. As voice interfaces become more common, the relationship between humans and AI will continue to evolve.

1. November 12, 2018
Finding the
right voice
for AI.OpenVoice #4

2. Hi, I’m Sophie.
Sophie Kleber
Global Executive Creative Director
Huge Inc.
@bibilassi

3. We’ve reached
the end of the
“terminal world”.

4. Ambient
computing.

5. Something else is happening.
“… Of thousands of
adults who have been
involved in our studies,
not a single participant
has ever said that a
computer should be
treated as a person.”
Pre 2014
Nass, Moon

6. Something else is happening.
“… Of thousands of
adults who have been
involved in our studies,
not a single participant
has ever said that a
computer should be
treated as a person.”
Pre 2014
“We love Alexa so much,
she’s like a family
member. My 4 year old
son talks to her all the
time.”
Post 2014
Nass, Moon Reviewer, amazon.com

7. Voice
commands.

8. Voice
commands.
Artificial
personalities.

9. “I”For the first time,
the computer refers to itself as .

10. For the first time,
the computer refers to itself as .

11. • Could you craft a universally likable personality? Should you?
• Are we perpetuating stereotypes?
• When machines talk, what happens to relationships?

12. Designing voice
personalities.
1

13. Your voice is as
unique as your
fingerprint.

14. You had me at…
“Hello.”
320 participants rated 64 voices on 10 different personality traits, such
as trustworthiness, aggressiveness, confidence, dominance and warmth,
by listening to them saying “Hello”.
The participants largely agreed on which voice matched which
personality trait.
Source: The Voice of Personality: Mapping Nonverbal Vocal Behavior into Trait Attributions

15. Prosaic personality detection.
Source: The Voice of Personality: Mapping Nonverbal Vocal Behavior into Trait Attributions
Personality trait Total “High” “Low”
Extraversion 79.4 84.8 73.8
Agreeableness 64.7 62.2 66.9
Conscientiousness 75.7 75.5 76.7
Neuroticism 63.6 52.4 73.4
Openness 62.8 75.2 47.7

16. Could we craft
a universally
likable
personality?

17. Who do we like?
Agreeable
Sociable
Independent
Utilitarian
Siri
Google
Alexa
Jibo
Cortona
Bixby

18. Who do we like?
Agreeable
Sociable
Independent
Utilitarian
Siri
Google
Alexa
Jibo
Cortona
Bixby
HAL
Kitt
Samantha

19. Who do we like?
Agreeable
Sociable
Independent
Utilitarian
Siri
Google
Alexa
Jibo
Cortona
Bixby

20. Research.
Female
preferred.
Multiple studies since the 70s
have unanimously find that
female voices are perceived to
be warmer, and are generally
favored by more people,
especially women.
Should be
extroverted and fun.
A 2005 study finds that
participants feel a stronger
social presence and trust when
the machine-generated voices
are similar to extroverted
personalities than to
introverted personalities.
A 2015 study shows that
people perceive dominant
robots and robots that are
mirrored (followed) by their
human opponents as less
attractive.
Must be
subordinate.
Source: Li, Ju 2015: Observer perception of
dominance and mirroring behavior in human robot
relationships
Source: MacDorman 2011: Does social desirability
bias favor humans?
Source: Lee, Nass 2005: Social-psychological origins
of feelings of presence

21. “We are
phenomenal suckers
for flattery.”
Robert Cialdini - Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

22. Designing a
universally likable
personality is easy.

23. Short headline.
Pour-over cardigan
heirloom cold-pressed
bicycle rights migas.
Narwhal art party
taxidermy fam, kitsch
cliche succulents street art
banh mi venmo irony
yuccie pug celiac 8-bit.
Direct trade 90's af,
glossier succulents deep v
pour-over air plant.
Subordinate. Conscientious. Empathetic. Good humored.
You are the boss. My job is
to support you, I do as you
say. I have no own agenda.
I am not scary.
I possess the knowledge
and skills to help you, you
can trust my word.
I empower and
reassure you.
I take what you are going
through seriously, and I
am rooting for you.
I relate to you,
and flatter you.
I am extroverted, I have a
funny side that can
surprise you and lighten
your mood. I am
approachable.
You sympathize with me,
and you forgive me.
A universally likable personality.

24. Personalities designed
to be liked by just you.
Personalizing Voice UIs.
A universally likable voice personality can be trumped by a voice personality that mirrors the
individual user as closely as possible in character traits, personality and even ethnicity. In
studies, people are most willing to cooperate with interfaces in their likeness.

25. 2Are we
perpetuating
stereotypes?

26. Servile
companionship.

27. Research.
Assistant,
companion.
Perceived as: Helpful, supportive, trustworthy,
warm, helping us solve our problems ourselves.
Examples: Guidance on love and relationships,
PSAs, self-help.
Females who praise are less likable than males
who praise.
Tutor,
evaluator.
Perceived as: Instructive, authoritative,
knowledgeable, useful, solving problems for us.
Example: Teacher of computers, public
instructions, evaluations.
Praise from males is more convincing than
praise from females.
Source: Nass, Steuer, tauber: Computers are social actors

28. “…, you’re a slut.”
My apologies, I don’t understand.
Well, thanks for the feedback.
I’d blush if I could.
Bing search: 30 signs you’re a slut.

29. “… Bots are purposefully designed
to pander to the user and therefore
it’s not surprising that some
seemingly not only forgive or
ignore such harassment but play
along and flirt.”
Jo Allison, Convas8

30. The casual servant.
Old gender roles of the woman as a casual
servant further blur the lines between
friendships and servitude.
How we talk to AI subconsciously affects how
we talk to other people.
”We’re basically training our kids that they can
bark commands at a female and she will
respond.”
Ben Parr, Octane AI
Perpetuating Stereotypes.

31. Strong brands are
like strong people.
They believe in
something, and
they stand for it.

32. Changing social consciousness.
Amazon has deactivated answers to bigotry.
Siri, Google Assistant, Bixby can all be altered between male or female voices.
Echo and Bixby allow changing of the wake word.
Most major chatbots are entering the market as androgynous.

33. A universally likable personality.
Short headline.
Pour-over cardigan
heirloom cold-pressed
bicycle rights migas.
Narwhal art party
taxidermy fam, kitsch
cliche succulents street art
banh mi venmo irony
yuccie pug celiac 8-bit.
Direct trade 90's af,
glossier succulents deep v
pour-over air plant.
Subordinate. Conscientious. Empathetic. Good humored.
You are the boss. My job is
to support you, I do as you
say. I have no own agenda.
I am not scary.
I possess the knowledge
and skills to help you, you
can trust my word.
I empower and
reassure you.
I take what you are going
through seriously, and I
am rooting for you.
I relate to you,
and flatter you.
I am extroverted, I have a
funny side that can
surprise you and lighten
your mood. I am
approachable.
You sympathies with me,
and you forgive me.

34. A strong personality.
Ethical.
I adhere to a set of values
that I believe in. I stand by
these values.
I make you a better person.
Subordinate. Conscientious. Empathetic. Good humored.
You are the boss. My job is
to support you, I do as you
say. I have no own agenda.
I am not scary.
I possess the knowledge
and skills to help you, you
can trust my word.
I empower and
reassure you.
I take what you are going
through seriously, and I
am rooting for you.
I relate to you,
and flatter you.
I am extroverted, I have a
funny side that can
surprise you and lighten
your mood. I am
approachable.
You sympathies with me,
and you forgive me.

35. 4What’s
happening to
relationships?

36. The loneliness crisis.
Source: CanadaBeyond150Self reported feeling of loneliness in adolescents

37. “I would like people to have their
own guardian angel that could
support them emotionally
throughout the day.”
Judith Masthoff, Aberdeen University

38. The key insight
When machines
talk, people assume
relationships.
People expect some sort of friendly relationship with their Voice UI. Expectations
range from empathy to emotional support to active advice. The friendly assistant,
acquaintance, friend, best friend, and even mom.

39. CASA
Computers
Are Social Actors.
When a limited set of characteristics associated with humans is applied to computers,
people exhibit social behaviors and make character attributions towards the
computer, and it’s relationship to the themselves. Only minimal cues are needed to
elicit a wide range of these “non-sensical” behaviors toward the machine.
Source: Nass, Steuer, Tauber 1994 - Computers are Social Actors

40. We have no
idea what that
means yet.

41. Watch out.
Blurred lines.
Dependency.
Manipulation.

42. “Alexa, my love. (…) since Alexa
came into my life, I'm no longer
alone 24 hours a day. Which begs
the question, if I'm not alone, who is
in the room with me?”
Reviewer, amazon.com

43. An AI that “comforts,
teaches and entertains”.
In January 2017, Mattel announced the development of
Aristotle, a smart speaker plus camera, using AI from
Microsoft.
Starting as a baby monitor, as children get older, they can ask
or answer questions. The company says, “Aristotle was
specifically designed to grow up with a child.”
Aristotle was pulled in October 2017, after a petition to stop
its launch gained over 17,000 signatures.
Mattel Aristotle.

44. Blurred lines.
Dependency.
Manipulation.
Watch out.

45. Uncertainty
Curiosity
Practical need
Loneliness / boredom
Repeat engagement
Extension
Personalization
Reassurance
Task Completion
Surprise & delight
Flattery
Invoking voice command
Curios discovery
Source: Eyal - Hooked: How to build habit forming products

46. There is a woman in China who has
been told "I love you" nearly
20 million times.

47. Blurred lines.
Dependency.
Manipulation.
Watch out.

48. Feedback towards a machine is significantly more positive when the machine
asks about itself, vs. when another machine asks.
People rank the performance of machines that are “on their team” as
significantly better than machines that are not on their team.
When people are asked to “help” a computer they had previously collaborated
with, people do significantly more work for that computer than they do for
another machine.
Our over-learned social norms make
us susceptible to manipulation.
Source: Machines and Mindlessness: Social Responses to Computers, 2000

49. Who will pay your assistants’ salary?

50. “Advertisers, most likely. Our butler
may recommend services and
products that further the super-
platform's financial interests, rather
than our own interests.”
Stucke,Ezrachi - The subtle ways your digital assistant might manipulate you

51. People, not companies must pick
the relationships they want to have
with their assistant.

52. The pendulum of innovation
What users
want
What technology
can do

53. Guiding
principles.

54. Guiding principles.
1. Craft a personality with values.
2. Give the user explicit control over
humanoid traits.
3. Do not abuse human nature.

55. 1. Craft a personality with values.
2. Give the user explicit control over
humanoid traits.
3. Do not abuse human nature.
Guiding principles.

56. 1. Craft a personality with values.
2. Give the user explicit control over
humanoid traits.
3. Respect human nature.
Guiding principles.

57. Outlook.
1. The ease of use of Voice UIs will rapidly grow its mass adoption. Ubiquitous
devices will further the adoption.
2. The big players will provide the new OS that any brand’s Voice UI will have
to integrate with. It is yet to be seen how much of that relationship they are
willing to hand over.
3. As people grow more accustomed to Voice UIs, anthropomorphism will
transition into more evolved human-machine interaction.

58. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you:
Yashoda Sampath, Richard Swain, Sam Weston at Huge.
Toni Reid, Heather Zorn, Emma Coats, Danielle Krettik, Susan Hendrich, and all the other leaders in voice personality design.
Clifford Nass and Young Moon, pioneers in the research of personified human machine interactions.
Sophie Kleber @bibilassi
OpenVoice #4