Financial Chatbots for the New and Inexperienced Investor; All Chatbots Are Disabled: The Problem of Anthropomorphism of AI Chatbots for Marginalized Groups 11 views

Two of the most important factors that contribute to quality of life are the financial and social aspects. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a popular tool that is employed in both aspects to increase efficiency and user benefit. The technical project addresses the role of AI in easing investment for new and inexperienced customers in the implementation of a financial advising chatbot. The STS project focuses on the role of AI chatbots and their effects on marginalized groups that utilize it socially. While the technical project highlighted the user experience and development of a financial advising chatbot, it also revealed the positive and negative effects for new, inexperienced investors. For someone with little to no financial literacy, having a chatbot that can explain difficult financial terms and even give recommendations on what mutual funds and exchange trade funds (ETFs) to invest in is a valuable tool. However, AI chatbots have the tendency to falsify information—something called hallucination—and can make mistakes. Resulting in characteristics that do not benefit users in something so important as their personal finances and even their social life. The social, ethical, and philosophical implications of AI chatbots are further addressed in the STS project. Regardless of the context that a chatbot is used in, anthropomorphism is always present. The ability to communicate with a chatbot in a human-like manner shapes our perception of the chatbot and how we interact with it, further supplemented by the STS research. A major overlap between the technical project and the STS project is the focus on marginalized groups. Financial literacy is not accessible for those of lower economic status, education, and social standing. There are systemic barriers that exclude members of marginalized groups from financial independence and social connection. This intersection motivated the STS frameworks that analyze those systemic barriers and what they mean for chatbots. While the application of AI chatbots differs in the technical and STS projects, the resulting negative implications of anthropomorphized chatbots are further explored in the STS project. In tandem, these projects reveal the cost of utilizing AI chatbots, specifically in major life-altering aspects, outweighing the supposed benefits for marginalized users.

BS (Bachelor of Science)

Chatbots; Anthropomorphism; Technoableism; Conversational AI; Hughes Award 2026; Hughes Award 2026 Finalist

School of Engineering and Applied Science Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Technical Advisor: Rosanne Vrugtman STS Advisor: Joshua Earle

All rights reserved by the author (no additional license for public reuse)

2026-05-07