Minding the source: toward an integrative theory of human–machine communication

Abstract According to the computers are social actors (CASA) paradigm, a dominant theoretical framework for research on human–computer interaction, people treat computers as if they were people. Recent studies on human–machine communication (HMC) and human–artificial intelligence (AI) interaction, however, appear to focus on when and how people respond to machines differently than to human agents. To reconcile this apparent contradiction, this study reviews critically the two overarching theoretical explanations proposed and tested in each respective tradition, the mindlessness account and the machine heuristic. After elaborating on several conceptual and operational issues with each explanatory mechanism, an alternative theoretical model of HMC is proposed that integrates both research traditions and generates predictions that potentially deviate from the dual-process models. Lastly, it is discussed how recent developments in AI technology invite modifications to the current understanding of HMC and beyond.