Perspectives on How Sociology Can Advance Theorizing about Human-Chatbot Interaction and Developing Chatbots for Social Good

TL;DR

This paper explores how sociology can deepen understanding of human-chatbot interactions and guide the development of socially beneficial chatbots through four sociological theories, addressing social structures, safety, and equity.

Contribution

It introduces four sociological theories to enhance understanding and development of chatbots for social good, filling a gap in sociological research on this topic.

Findings

Sociological theories provide new insights into chatbot use and social impacts.

Applying these theories can improve chatbot safety and promote social equity.

Theories help design interventions that consider cultural and social contexts.

Abstract

Recently, research into chatbots (also known as conversational agents, AI agents, voice assistants), which are computer applications using artificial intelligence to mimic human-like conversation, has grown sharply. Despite this growth, sociology lags other disciplines (including computer science, medicine, psychology, and communication) in publishing about chatbots. We suggest sociology can advance understanding of human-chatbot interaction and offer four sociological theories to enhance extant work in this field. The first two theories (resource substitution theory, power-dependence theory) add new insights to existing models of the drivers of chatbot use, which overlook sociological concerns about how social structure (e.g., systemic discrimination, the uneven distribution of resources within networks) inclines individuals to use chatbots, including problematic levels of emotional dependency on chatbots. The second two theories (affect control theory, fundamental cause of disease theory) help inform the development of chatbot-driven interventions that minimize safety risks and enhance equity by leveraging sociological insights into how chatbot outputs could attend to cultural contexts (e.g., affective norms) to promote wellbeing and enhance communities (e.g., opportunities for civic participation). We discuss the value of applying sociological theories for advancing theorizing about human-chatbot interaction and developing chatbots for social good.