‘It's not the boogeyman’: How voice assistant technology is bridging the digital divide for older people

Abstract

Technologically illiterate users are frequently excluded from access to technology and its benefits, creating a digital divide. Some groups of older adults are among those considered technologically illiterate and experiencing vulnerability. For this population, traditional technologies that require physical interactions have proven to be stressful and create a phenomenon known as ‘technophobia’. Herein lies the potential value of touchless technologies such as voice assistants, which may offer a new avenue for older adult inclusion. Thus, our study delves deep into the lifeworld of older people to understand how voice assistants can impact inclusion and well-being. Adopting a longitudinal approach, we observed and interviewed participants (n = 32) in their homes, augmenting this qualitative data with secondary data from voice assistant device reports. Our initial results show that older people perceived the effect of illiteracy in their first encounter with the technology, but over time, they learnt to overcome initial challenges and started building relationships with artificial intelligence. In the final part of the study, participants identified the value of using technology and recognised that technology ‘is not the boogeyman’ but rather enables tech-inclusion and well-being. Under the lens of transformative service research, we provide a framework that illustrates how artificial intelligence is healing older people's digital divide, showing core elements of inclusion (access to new technology, support with activities, sense of participation, independence, convenience and source of information), and well-being (sense of pride, entertainment option, eased loneliness, improved self-esteem).