The role of the humanisation of smart home speakers in the personalisation–privacy paradox

Abstract

• Personalised messages increases perceived benefits but not risks. • Humanisation increases the perceived benefits of personalisation. • Humanisation shows a U-shaped effect on the risks of disclosing information. • Humanisation increases the positive effect of personalisation on benefits. This article examines the personalisation–privacy paradox through the privacy calculus lens in the context of smart home speakers. It also considers the direct and moderating role of humanisation in the personalisation–privacy paradox. This characteristic refers to how human the device is perceived to be, given its voice’s tone and pacing, original responses, sense of humour, and recommendations. The model was tested on a sample of 360 users of different brands of smart home speakers. These users were heterogeneous in terms of age, gender, income, and frequency of use of the device. The results confirm the personalisation–privacy paradox and verify uncanny valley theory, finding the U-shaped effect that humanisation has on risks of information disclosure. They also show that humanisation increases benefits, which supports the realism maximisation theory. Specifically, they reveal that users will perceive the messages received as more useful and credible if the devices seem human. However, the human-likeness of these devices should not exceed certain levels as it increases perceived risk. These results should be used to highlight the importance of the human-like communication of smart home speakers.