Due to travel and some personal matters, I took a month off and stepped away from the project. Now, with the academic quarter in full swing, I am gradually re-engaging and can only dedicate a few hours per week to the project. At this point, my primary goal is to complete the literature review and begin drafting my technical paper. As I am still in a holding pattern for IRB submission, I have decided to create a research proposal that will address many of the topics required for the IRB. I have organized the literature review around key theoretical themes that support the central concept. These themes include:

• Media Richness and Media Naturalness Theory
• Social Presence Theory and Psychological Distance Theory
• Anthropomorphism and Uncanny Valley Theory
• AI Device User Acceptance and Computers as Social Actors

I have also spent some time reflecting on the implications and key messages I want to convey to connect these eight theories cohesively. In the meantime, I revisited and revised the research method, shifting from a within-subject design to a mixed-subject design, and made additional adjustments to the research objective and the recruitment method.