Trusting Digital Voice Assistants: How Children Perceive Incomplete Explanations

Digital voice assistants (DVAs) have become an important method for children to learn about the world and access information. This study explored 90 4- to 6-year-old children’s epistemic trust in DVAs across different conflict situations (nonconflict vs. low-conflict vs. high-conflict) and the quality (completeness) of explanatory testimonies, using the paradigm of dual-informant sources. The results revealed that children could recognize completeness in DVAs explanations and preferred complete explanations, with 5- and 6-year-olds demonstrating better judgment and preference for completeness than 4-year-olds. However, in conflict situations, children’s trust in DVAs providing complete explanations decreased. Younger children were more prone to belief revision than older children were. The results suggest that explanation completeness by DVAs, conflict levels and children’s age can significantly enhance trust and efficacy in educational applications and can transform child–computer interactions.