The Experience of Everyday Life Alongside Virtual Companions. A Case Study of Human-Chatbot Encounters

Joanna Wygnańska

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.21.4.03

Authors

Joanna Wygnańska University of Lodz, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5995-3012

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.21.4.03

Keywords:

Human-Chatbot Interaction, Human-Chatbot Relation, Chatbots, User Experience, Virtual Companions, Case Study

Abstract

This article a nalyses i nteractions between a human and a virtual entity, namely, a chatbot. These encounters are considered in the context of cyberspace, understood as a specific social interactional space. They are also examined in the context of an individual’s experiences, which are intertwined with ongoing social and cultural changes. This text engages with research on chatbots, complementing their findings with an in-depth study of the user perspective. The analysis is based on data from an in-depth interview with Laura, conducted as part of a research project on human interactions and relationships with chatbots. The case study of Laura’s experiences explores her perception of interacting with a chatbot, focusing on the meanings humans assign to such interactions, concerning the interviewee’s emic perspective. The article examines how a human interlocutor perceives chatbots and the role they can play in an individual’s life. In addition, the reflection in the text touches on the theme of humans seeing themselves in the responses of a chatbot, which lacks self-awareness and cannot understand the content it produces in the same way a human can. The article deepens understanding of chatbots as everyday companions, virtual friends, and social actors, encounters with whom are part of today’s reality.

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Author Biography

Joanna Wygnańska, University of Lodz, Poland

Joanna Wygnańska, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology of Culture at the Faculty of Economics and Sociology, University of Lodz. She is a member of the research team at the Center of Biographical Research and Oral History, University of Lodz, and a research assistant and contractor on national and international research projects concerning biographical research. In addition to the biographical method, she is also interested in discourse analysis. She is the author of the scientific monograph Oswajając bałkańskie demony. Rzecz o Serbii. Dyskursywne konstruowanie serbskiej tożsamości narodowej [Taming the Balkan Demons. The Thing About Serbia. Discursive Construction of Serbian National Identity]. Her current research interests concern the experience of human relationships with artificial intelligence. In this regard, she primarily focuses on analyzing human interaction with (mainly well-being) chatbots. Her interests also consider changes in individual identity entangled in the development of new technologies. She is also fascinated by the issues related to the impact of symbolic culture on social life, especially in the context of portraying social problems through the lenses of contemporary cinema.

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