Leaving the Butler Behind: The Future of Role Reproduction in CUI

Speech technologies are increasing in popularity by offering new interaction modalities for their users. Despite the prevalence of these devices, and the rapid improvement of the underlying technology, how we actually interact with these devices has remained wrapped up in the metaphors of command and control based around the problematic reproduction of the role of butler, maid, or personal assistant. In this paper we explore the issues around focusing our development and research on making a ‘better’ subordinate, and point to some opportunities to replace and refresh the status quo.