Designing Transparent AI-Mediated Language Support for Intergenerational Family Communication
Sora Kang, Youjin Hwang, Joonhwan Lee
TLDR
GenSync, an AI-mediated chat, shows transparent translation improves intergenerational family communication, unlike disruptive black-box methods.
Key contributions
- Introduces GenSync, an AI chat interface for intergenerational family communication.
- Study shows transparent translation improves conversational quality, intimacy, and usability.
- Reveals black-box translation disrupts communication, highlighting visibility's critical role.
- Provides design implications for AI-mediated communication in socially sensitive contexts.
Why it matters
This paper is crucial for improving intergenerational family communication using AI. It shows transparent translation fosters intimacy and quality, unlike disruptive black-box methods. This offers vital design guidance for AI-mediated communication in sensitive social contexts.
Original Abstract
Intergenerational linguistic differences pose challenges to effective and intimate family communication. This paper presents GenSync, a chat-based interface that supports intergenerational understanding through different forms of translation visibility. We conducted a controlled within-subjects study with 16 family dyads (32 participants), comparing three conditions: no translation, black-box translation, and transparent translation that displays both original and interpreted messages. The results show that translation visibility plays a critical role in shaping conversational experiences. Transparent translation supported conversational quality, intimacy, and usability, while black-box translation often disrupted conversational flow. These findings position intergenerational language support as a form of interpretive mediation and contribute design implications for AI-mediated communication in socially sensitive contexts.
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