Using an agency lens, this paper discusses a special human-computer relation, namely technological agency, in which users delegate social tasks to autonomous computing-artifacts (i.e., technological agents) who act on behalf of the users in the social sphere. In this respect, users treat the technological agents differently from traditional computer-enabled tools and assess them from a relational perspective. We argue that control and restrictiveness together shape users’ perceived relation with technological agents and influence their acceptance, in addition to their perceived utilitarian value of the technology. An experiment using a delegated e-negotiation scenario was conducted. Overall, the results support the above proposition.

本文从代理的角度讨论了一种特殊的人机关系，即技术代理，在这种关系中，用户将社会任务委托给在社会领域代表用户行事的自主计算工件（即技术代理）。在这方面，用户将技术代理与传统的计算机工具区别对待，并从关系的角度对其进行评估。我们认为，控制和限制共同塑造了用户与技术代理的感知关系并影响他们的接受，以及他们感知的技术功利价值。进行了使用委托电子谈判方案的实验。总体而言，结果支持上述命题。