Should Machines Feel or Flee Emotions? User Expectations and Concerns about Emotionally Aware Chatbots

As chatbots are becoming increasingly popular, we often wonder what users perceive as natural and socially accepted manners of interacting with them. While there are many aspects to this overall question, we focused on user expectations of their emotional characteristics. Some researchers maintain that humans should avoid engaging in emotional conversations with chatbots, while others have started building empathetic chatting machines using the latest deep learning techniques. To understand if chatbots should comprehend and display emotions, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 participants. Our analysis revealed their overall enthusiasm towards emotionally aware agents. The findings disclosed interesting emotional interaction patterns in daily conversations and the specific application domains where emotionally intelligent technology could improve user experience. Further, we identified key user concerns that may hinder the adoption of these chatbots. Finally, we summarized a few guidelines useful for the development of emotionally intelligent conversational agents and identified further research opportunities.