In a different thread some time ago [1], I wrote: "The bot hype right now isn't about average UIs being replaced with text prompts of "What would you like to d

In a different thread some time ago [1], I wrote: "The bot hype right now isn't about average UIs being replaced with text prompts of "What would you like to do today?", it's about large walled-garden ecosystems (Google, FB, Amazon, Apple, MS, Kik, etc.) funneling web searches and services through their own systems." I believe the hype isn't driven by the desire of people interested in Natural Language Processing, but rather by providers of chat apps who want to track your 'click-throughs' and engagement; and by service providers like Uber and Papa John's who want to expand their services' reach into the hands of users who may be running FB Messenger or Whatsapp or Kik, but perhaps not running the Uber or Papa John's app. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12002773 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12002773