Supporting the Design of Smart Speakers to Foster a Sense of Ownership in Asian Indian Families

Smart speakers are increasingly being adopted by families in the U.S. In many cases, a smart speaker is shared by family members, which might make the sense of ownership uncertain. Through a diary and interview-based study with 20 Asian Indian parents and teenagers living in the U.S., this study through thematic analysis highlights various aspects of smart speakers that support or hinder the fulfilment of the psychological needs – self-efficacy, self-identity, territoriality, autonomy, and accountability and responsibility – that foster a sense of ownership. The paper also discusses the experiences of a cultural group that is not well represented in prior HCI work, and thus, it will add useful nuances and knowledge about inclusivity to the study of smart-speaker technology in HCI. Finally, it contributes six actionable design guidelines, including guidelines that relate to maintaining conversational context across different interactions and fostering a sense of ownership among users who share smart speakers, through the use of territorial markers.