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My contention has always been that people prefer messaging primarily because there's a human on the other side.

by pbreit 10y ago

whatevorama 10y ago
Totally. The problem is that a lot of "AI" discourse makes the automatic assumption that humans want to interact with quote-unquote "machines". Humans want better user experience and humans do a good job interacting with other humans:). What's missing in the ai-bot conversation is the spark of creativity. There is the assumption that "AI" alone will create value, when value creation happens when user experience is new and exciting. I am doing something like that myself as a side project, not exactly as "AI" more as voice interface responding to voice commands that uses humor and character voices to reply. In way, the problem of bots is actually "AI". You can create a more flexible and lively experience if you put "AI" aside and really think of how people interact and create responses that are not based on "mean" values, but on real conversations. You don't even need the whole AI backend, you can just use javascript, audio files with or without accompanying text. Because so much of the conversation is bland, having a "voice" will make a huge difference. AI developers should consider collaborating with writers and comedians:)
- hectormalot 10y ago
  On that last point: the place I work actually hired copywriters and linguists to create more of a personality for our AI/bot. You're right that the typical chat is quite bland and feels scripted, but I think companies are picking up on this and are trying to improve on this.
SwellJoe 10y ago
Personally, I hate talking to random humans (I have friends, if I want to talk to someone). The only reason I ever do so, in the case bots are intended to serve, is if the company's website can't do what I want. Give me a good website that provides all of the stuff I might need to do when interacting with your company, and I will never ever ask to speak to a human. I've always felt like bots for use in customer service were trying to solve a problem by adding more problems. So, now, not only is someone talking at your company because they have a problem that couldn't easily be solved by your web presence, now you're making them navigate an uncanny valley of dumb questions and answers...following the same old support script only now with even less intelligence and autonomy on the part of the company rep.
- Cerium 10y ago
  I chatted with a Verizon representative the other day, only because their website does not support discontinuation of service to a device. I tried calling and got a long wait and when a "How can I help you?" message popped up I gave it a shot. Worked well, got my problem solved very quickly, not a huge fan though.

My contention has always been that people prefer messaging primarily because there's a human on the other side.

by pbreit 10y ago

My contention has always been that people prefer messaging primarily because there's a human on the other side.

Totally. The problem is that a lot of "AI" discourse makes the automatic assumption that humans want to interact with quote-unquote "machines". Humans want better user experience and humans do a good job interacting with other humans:). What's missing in the ai-bot conversation is the spark of creativity. There is the assumption that "AI" alone will create value, when value creation happens when user experience is new and exciting. I am doing something like that myself as a side project, not exactly as "AI" more as voice interface responding to voice commands that uses humor and character voices to reply. In way, the problem of bots is actually "AI". You can create a more flexible and lively experience if you put "AI" aside and really think of how people interact and create responses that are not based on "mean" values, but on real conversations. You don't even need the whole AI backend, you can just use javascript, audio files with or without accompanying text. Because so much of the conversation is bland, having a "voice" will make a huge difference. AI developers should consider collaborating with writers and comedians:)

hectormalot 10y ago
On that last point: the place I work actually hired copywriters and linguists to create more of a personality for our AI/bot. You're right that the typical chat is quite bland and feels scripted, but I think companies are picking up on this and are trying to improve on this.

SwellJoe 10y ago

Personally, I hate talking to random humans (I have friends, if I want to talk to someone). The only reason I ever do so, in the case bots are intended to serve, is if the company's website can't do what I want. Give me a good website that provides all of the stuff I might need to do when interacting with your company, and I will never ever ask to speak to a human. I've always felt like bots for use in customer service were trying to solve a problem by adding more problems. So, now, not only is someone talking at your company because they have a problem that couldn't easily be solved by your web presence, now you're making them navigate an uncanny valley of dumb questions and answers...following the same old support script only now with even less intelligence and autonomy on the part of the company rep.

Cerium 10y ago
I chatted with a Verizon representative the other day, only because their website does not support discontinuation of service to a device. I tried calling and got a long wait and when a "How can I help you?" message popped up I gave it a shot. Worked well, got my problem solved very quickly, not a huge fan though.