The Conversational Agent “Emoty” Perceived by People with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Is It a Human or a Machine?

This research explores the anthropomorphic perception of Emoty by its target user. Emoty is a Conversational Agent specifically designed as an emotional facilitator and trainer for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). NDD is a group of conditions that are characterized by severe deficits in the cognitive, emotional, and motor areas and produce severe impairments in communication and social functioning. Our application promotes skills of emotion expression and recognition and was developed in cooperation with psychologists and therapists as a supporting tool for regular interventions. We conducted an empirical study with 19 people with NDD. We observed their behavior while interacting with the system and recorded the commentaries they made and the questions they asked when the session was over. Starting from this, we discovered a twofold nature of Emoty: for some aspects, it is perceived more like a machine, but for some others, it is more human-like. In this regard, we discussed some relevant points about gender, fallibility, interaction, and sensitivity of the agent, and we paved the ground towards a better understanding of the perception of people with NDD concerning Conversational Technology.