Assessing chatbots from a sociotechnical perspective

Rinie van Est, Linda Kool and Lambèr Royakkers

Chapter 11 in Handbook of Technology Assessment, 2024, pp 111-120 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Chatbots are a type of social robot that is most commonly used and is already having a major social impact. This chapter looks at chatbots, also named conversational agents, from a technological and social perspective. So first we look at what kind of machines are chatbots, and what kind of technologies are we discussing when we talk about chatbots. To address this question, we will identify various key technical characteristics of chatbots that influence how chatbots intervene in social practices. We then discuss various social, ethical, and, in particular, anthropological issues surrounding chatbots. We specifically focus on dehumanization issues raised by the interaction between chatbots and humans, such as objectification, paternalism, deception, and social de-skilling.

Keywords: Economics and Finance; Innovations and Technology; Sociology and Social Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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