Assessing the impact of cognitive assistants on mental workload in simple tasks

Torsten Maier, Vincent Donghia, Chaoran Chen, Jessica Menold, Christopher McComb

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cognitive assistants, such as Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa, are increasingly becoming routine elements of our daily lives, yet the effects of such devices on the humans using them has been largely unstudied. While much research has proposed new intelligent systems for specific contexts, few studies have characterized the dynamics between cognitive assistants and humans. In an effort to address this gap, this research study investigates the effect of cognitive assistants on mental workload. Participants perform the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task while working with a fake cognitive assistant (Mary) and concurrently completing a secondary speed and accuracy test. Performance with the cognitive assistant was found to be higher but with no significant difference in mental workload. Participants working with the cognitive assistant were found to be less frustrated than those completing the task without it.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication31st International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology
PublisherAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
ISBN (Electronic)9780791859278
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019
EventASME 2019 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, IDETC-CIE 2019 - Anaheim, United States
Duration: Aug 18 2019Aug 21 2019

Publication series

NameProceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference
Volume7

Conference

ConferenceASME 2019 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, IDETC-CIE 2019
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityAnaheim
Period8/18/198/21/19

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Modeling and Simulation

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