Technological advancements have allowed the design of more realistic virtual characters, for example, in-game development; meanwhile, researchers argue that more realism is not always suitable. As an explorative pilot study, this thesis investigates the uncanny among human-like agents and intelligent systems with human-like attributes. The thesis focuses on the uncanny theories to understand whether Mori's Uncanny Valley (UV) or Tinwell's Uncanny wall (UW) is more suitable when designing with a user-centred approach. The study facilitated two remote focus group workshops consisting of seven participants to understand the participant's expectations, needs and desires of existing and future AI technology. The participants consisted of two target groups, gamers and non-gamers, in order to understand if exposure to AI leads to adoptability of the technology. The participants described their perspectives and needs of existing AI assistants, and their preferences of human-like cross modality such as voice and avatar for future assistants. The research activities resulted in insights and four themes: rejection of existing assistant technology, productivity and task management, expectations of future AI assistants and balancing human-likeness. Findings show that participants reject existing assistant technologies, as old tangible habits, social norms, and incompatibility prevent the adoption of existing assistant technology. While both gamers and non-gamers seek a balance between generic robotics and pure human likeness, none of the participants fully adopted the idea of human likeness as it generates uncanny feelings.

AI-assistenter har blivit mycket populära bland konsumenter, och organisationer inser i allt högre grad deras potentiella fördelar. Experter menar att implementering av AI-assistenter stöter på samma hinder som vid implementering av vanliga IT-system, men att AI-assistenter har unika aspekter som försvårar implementering ytterligare. Tidigare forskning har huvudsakligen baserats på expertåsikter och det saknas omfattande studier om specifika hinder som behöver åtgärdas för en framgångsrik implementering. Denna studie syftar till att fylla denna kunskapslucka genom att intervjua tolv deltagare från ett IT-företag för att få en helhetsförståelse av deras perspektiv på AI-assistenter i deras yrkesmiljö. Med Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) som teoretiskt ramverk, analyserades kvalitativa data från semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultaten visar att deltagarna generellt har en positiv inställning till AI-assistenter, men de uttrycker flera utmaningar som kan försvåra implementeringen av dem. Dessa utmaningar inkluderar svårigheter att identifiera lämpliga tillämpningsområden, skiftande uppfattning av användningsområden, obekantskap med teknologin, stress relaterad till implementering, säkerhets- och tillitsfrågor, samt begränsade resurser. / AI assistants have become very popular among consumers, and organizations are increasingly recognizing their potential benefits. Experts suggest that implementing AI assistants faces the same obstacles as implementing regular IT systems, but with unique aspects that further complicate implementation. Previous research has mainly been based on expert opinions, and there is a lack of comprehensive studies on specific obstacles that need to be addressed for successful implementation. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by interviewing twelve participants from an IT company to gain a comprehensive understanding of their perspectives on AI assistants in their professional environment. Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) as a theoretical framework, qualitative data from semi-structured interviews were analyzed. The results show that participants generally have a positive attitude towards AI assistants but express several challenges that could hinder the implementation. These challenges include difficulties in identifying appropriate application areas, shifting perceptions of use cases, unfamiliarity with the technology, stress related to implementation, security and trust issues, and limited resources.