Artificial Empathy in Home Service Agents: A Conceptual Framework and Typology of Empathic Human–Agent Interactions
As artificial intelligence (AI) technology advances, there has been a diversification of home service functions and services, as well as a change in the applied technologies and functions. This is due to the fact that the needs and expectations vary depending on the purpose of performing the task in...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| author | Joohyun Lee Hyo-Jin Kang |
| author_facet | Joohyun Lee Hyo-Jin Kang |
| author_sort | Joohyun Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As artificial intelligence (AI) technology advances, there has been a diversification of home service functions and services, as well as a change in the applied technologies and functions. This is due to the fact that the needs and expectations vary depending on the purpose of performing the task in the same environment. Although interactions with AI often occur in the home environment, which is a personal space, there is a need for research that examines interactions in consideration of the concept of empathy. This study thus aims to identify previous studies that examine the interaction between users and technology and to systematize the elements of interaction that can be considered based on intelligent agents that are often used in the home environment. To this end, a framework was established to examine multifaceted elements through research that shows that the interaction between technology and users should be natural, with sophisticated psychological anthropomorphism. This study analyzed the literature for the establishment of an artificial empathy interaction system and presented an initial framework. Subsequently, we proceeded to the application of authentic industry cases to the framework, with the objective of ascertaining the feasibility of mapping groups exhibiting analogous trends. This process culminated in the categorization of these cases into three distinct types, alongside the identification of the empathy interaction elements that should be given consideration for each category. Moreover, we identified additional components necessary for the formulation of the final framework and elements that were deemed to be superfluous. Thereafter, we initiated the refinement process to elaborate the framework. The final framework is “Empathic HAX (human-agent interactions) Canvas”, which is designed to examine the necessity of empathic interaction between users and AI agents in the home service domain and to determine the optimal design for such interaction. The significance of this study lies in the creation of a framework that has not previously existed, and the presentation of a design tool that is highly likely to be used both academically and practically. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | DOAJ |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-ba7ffc353c1a4c18bbca0f99fd8929722025-08-20T02:42:35ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-03-01156309610.3390/app15063096Artificial Empathy in Home Service Agents: A Conceptual Framework and Typology of Empathic Human–Agent InteractionsJoohyun Lee0Hyo-Jin Kang1Department of Future Convergence Technology Engineering, Sungshin Women’s University, Seoul 02844, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Service Design Engineering, Sungshin Women’s University, Seoul 02844, Republic of KoreaAs artificial intelligence (AI) technology advances, there has been a diversification of home service functions and services, as well as a change in the applied technologies and functions. This is due to the fact that the needs and expectations vary depending on the purpose of performing the task in the same environment. Although interactions with AI often occur in the home environment, which is a personal space, there is a need for research that examines interactions in consideration of the concept of empathy. This study thus aims to identify previous studies that examine the interaction between users and technology and to systematize the elements of interaction that can be considered based on intelligent agents that are often used in the home environment. To this end, a framework was established to examine multifaceted elements through research that shows that the interaction between technology and users should be natural, with sophisticated psychological anthropomorphism. This study analyzed the literature for the establishment of an artificial empathy interaction system and presented an initial framework. Subsequently, we proceeded to the application of authentic industry cases to the framework, with the objective of ascertaining the feasibility of mapping groups exhibiting analogous trends. This process culminated in the categorization of these cases into three distinct types, alongside the identification of the empathy interaction elements that should be given consideration for each category. Moreover, we identified additional components necessary for the formulation of the final framework and elements that were deemed to be superfluous. Thereafter, we initiated the refinement process to elaborate the framework. The final framework is “Empathic HAX (human-agent interactions) Canvas”, which is designed to examine the necessity of empathic interaction between users and AI agents in the home service domain and to determine the optimal design for such interaction. The significance of this study lies in the creation of a framework that has not previously existed, and the presentation of a design tool that is highly likely to be used both academically and practically.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/6/3096artificial empathyempathic AIAI agenthome servicehuman–agent interactions (HAX)conceptual framework |
| spellingShingle | Joohyun Lee Hyo-Jin Kang Artificial Empathy in Home Service Agents: A Conceptual Framework and Typology of Empathic Human–Agent Interactions Applied Sciences artificial empathy empathic AI AI agent home service human–agent interactions (HAX) conceptual framework |
| title | Artificial Empathy in Home Service Agents: A Conceptual Framework and Typology of Empathic Human–Agent Interactions |
| title_full | Artificial Empathy in Home Service Agents: A Conceptual Framework and Typology of Empathic Human–Agent Interactions |
| title_fullStr | Artificial Empathy in Home Service Agents: A Conceptual Framework and Typology of Empathic Human–Agent Interactions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Artificial Empathy in Home Service Agents: A Conceptual Framework and Typology of Empathic Human–Agent Interactions |
| title_short | Artificial Empathy in Home Service Agents: A Conceptual Framework and Typology of Empathic Human–Agent Interactions |
| title_sort | artificial empathy in home service agents a conceptual framework and typology of empathic human agent interactions |
| topic | artificial empathy empathic AI AI agent home service human–agent interactions (HAX) conceptual framework |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/6/3096 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT joohyunlee artificialempathyinhomeserviceagentsaconceptualframeworkandtypologyofempathichumanagentinteractions AT hyojinkang artificialempathyinhomeserviceagentsaconceptualframeworkandtypologyofempathichumanagentinteractions |