# Exploring Interactions Between Trust, Anthropomorphism, and Relationship Development in Voice Assistants

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.01923 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.01923/

## Key facts

- Cited by 10 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 4 Aug 2021.

## Built on by (most cited first, 10 of 10)

- [A Taxonomy of Linguistic Expressions That Contribute To Anthropomorphism of Language Technologies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.09870/) (2025)
- [Malicious LLM-Based Conversational AI Makes Users Reveal Personal Information](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.11680/) (2025)
- [Deceptive AI Ecosystems: The Case of ChatGPT](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.13671/) (2023)
- [Explainable and Human-Grounded AI for Decision Support Systems: The Theory of Epistemic Quasi-Partnerships](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.14839/) (2024)
- [Privacy in Human-AI Romantic Relationships: Concerns, Boundaries, and Agency](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.16824/) (2026)
- [Building Trust Through Voice: How Vocal Tone Impacts User Perception of Attractiveness of Voice Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.18941/) (2024)
- [Personality over Precision: Exploring the Influence of Human-Likeness on ChatGPT Use for Search](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.06447/) (2025)
- [VizTrust: A Visual Analytics Tool for Capturing User Trust Dynamics in Human-AI Communication](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.07279/) (2025)
- [Generative Confidants: How do People Experience Trust in Emotional Support from Generative AI?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.16656/) (2026)
- [The AI's Poker Face: Contrasting Persuasion and Sycophancy in Voice-Based Multi-Turn Conversations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.14124/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Modern conversational agents such as Alexa and Google Assistant represent significant progress in speech recognition, natural language processing, and speech synthesis. But as these agents have grown more realistic, concerns have been raised over how their social nature might unconsciously shape our interactions with them. Through a survey of 500 voice assistant users, we explore whether users' relationships with their voice assistants can be quantified using the same metrics as social, interpersonal relationships; as well as if this correlates with how much they trust their devices and the extent to which they anthropomorphise them. Using Knapp's staircase model of human relationships, we find that not only can human-device interactions be modelled in this way, but also that relationship development with voice assistants correlates with increased trust and anthropomorphism.