The HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen) is launching a new research project exploring how artificial-intelligence–based voice assistants become part of everyday life. The project, entitled “Domestication of an AI Platform – A Cultural Probes Pilot Study on the Appropriation of Smart Speakers in Student Living Environments,” is funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture (MWK) as part of its program supporting regional innovation ecosystems in Southern Lower Saxony.
Led by Prof. Dr. des. Konstantin Haensch together with research associate Carolin Baaske, the study focuses on devices such as smart speakers and voice-controlled assistants. Rather than examining these systems purely from a technical perspective, the project investigates the social, cultural, and spatial processes through which students integrate AI technologies into their homes and daily routines. Using methods from design ethnography and Cultural Probes, the researchers aim to surface tacit knowledge, habits, and symbolic meanings that shape everyday interactions with intelligent systems.
“Smart speakers have become commonplace in many households, yet we still know surprisingly little about how they are woven into daily practices and relationships,” explains Prof. Haensch. “Our project looks beyond usability to understand how AI technologies are appropriated, negotiated, and domesticated in real living environments—and what this means for future design.”
The project will run throughout 2025 with a total budget of approximately €49,500 provided by the MWK. It strengthens HAWK’s research profile in design-oriented technology studies and contributes empirical insights to broader debates on artificial intelligence, everyday life, and human–technology relations.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. des. Konstantin Haensch
Carolin Baaske, M.A.