Factory Operators' Perspectives on Cognitive Assistants for Knowledge Sharing: Challenges, Risks, and Impact on Work

TL;DR

This study explores factory operators' perceptions of cognitive assistants, highlighting their potential to improve knowledge sharing and efficiency, while also addressing challenges related to privacy, surveillance, and human-AI interaction.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into real-world challenges and impacts of deploying cognitive assistants in factory environments, focusing on usability, utility, and social implications.

Findings

CAs can enhance efficiency and knowledge sharing in factories.

Concerns about surveillance and privacy affect CA adoption.

Shortcomings of CAs compared to human knowledge sharing are identified.

Abstract

In the shift towards human-centered manufacturing, our two-year longitudinal study investigates the real-world impact of deploying Cognitive Assistants (CAs) in factories. The CAs were designed to facilitate knowledge sharing among factory operators. Our investigation focused on smartphone-based voice assistants and LLM-powered chatbots, examining their usability and utility in a real-world factory setting. Based on the qualitative feedback we collected during the deployments of CAs at the factories, we conducted a thematic analysis to investigate the perceptions, challenges, and overall impact on workflow and knowledge sharing. Our results indicate that while CAs have the potential to significantly improve efficiency through knowledge sharing and quicker resolution of production issues, they also introduce concerns around workplace surveillance, the types of knowledge that can be shared, and shortcomings compared to human-to-human knowledge sharing. Additionally, our findings stress the importance of addressing privacy, knowledge contribution burdens, and tensions between factory operators and their managers.