Conversational systems can range from simple informal, bidirectional text or voice conversations such as an answer to “What time is it?” to more complex interactions such as collecting oral testimony from crime witnesses to generate a sketch of a suspect. All forms of virtual assistants, including Siri, Alexa and all of their siblings also fit here. Conversational systems do not use text/voice as the exclusive interface but enable people and machines to use multiple modalities (e.g., sight, sound, tactile, etc.) to communicate across the digital device mesh (e.g., sensors, appliances, IoT systems).
As one example, a Chatbot (also known as a talkbot, chatterbot, Bot, chatterbox, Artificial Conversational Entity) is a computer program which conducts a conversation via auditory or textual methods. Such programs are often designed to convincingly simulate how a human would behave as a conversational partner, thereby passing the Turing test. Chatterbots are typically used in dialog systems for various practical purposes including customer service or information acquisition. Some chatterbots use sophisticated natural language processing systems, but many simpler systems scan for keywords within the input, then pull a reply with the most matching keywords, or the most similar wording pattern, from a database.
Opportunity Statement:
This brainy breed of conversational algorithms will leverage the power of cloud-based AI to engage and delight humans with unprecedented conversational smarts. Imagine the possibilities for everyday learners as well as special learners.
Sources:
Gartner Top Ten Technology Trends 2017
I think we’re just starting to see some early possibilities of chatbots, and the potential applications are yet to be explored. Either they are being used for pure entertainment (everyone trying to see if ChatGPT can pass the Turing test) or light clerical work. I’m reminded of when the internet first went mainstream; lots of web pages demonstrating funky coding tricks and pictures of cats. Once the excitement and tech demo phase cools down, we’ll probably see some really interesting uses.
An area I imagine is expanding the ability of online research from a passive “find articles about this” to a more discussion-based process. If researchers can trust the ability of AI chatbots to accurately find, summarize and paraphrase existing research, they can be used to have a discussion into deeper areas, with questions such as “has anyone tried this approach” or “why has no one else looked at this technique” generating meaningful results.
I think this is an important technology that is currently being employed by many institutions and corporations. Sometimes annoying but sometimes, admittedly very impressive. The biggest advantage I can see currently is that they free up labour. My staff spend an inordinate amount of time answering questions on email and by phone, mainly information that is available if people took the time to read. Many of the large tech companies (think Apple, Google, Facebook, Coursera) don’t have a traditional customer help line. They may however employ chat bots to help you navigate large amounts of informational answering inquires instantly. While imperfect, I predict with AI developments these bots will hit another milestone where they transform to become more like companions/ sidekicks/ co-pilots. Once this happens they may become indispensable to the online user. If something becomes indispensable it must be addressed and utilized at all levels of the education ecosystem as well. I have a strong feeling Chatbots in some form have a larger role to play in our future.