Q: Are there any technology interfaces (e.g., learning management systems, training portals, etc.) that you believe could benefit from the use of AI? If so, how would you include AI to improve user/learner experience?

A: Oral history has been around “forever” because once people learned to talk, they never shut up. Just kidding. Sort of. People have been talking longer than they have been writing, and certainly longer than typing, swiping, or whatever else you may be doing with your technology interfaces today.

So why don’t we just talk to computers? 

One of my favorite characters, C-3PO, is so good at talking, he is a master communicator. Just ask him.

In so many social “first contact” scenarios, speech is the primary method of interaction. This is often fictionalized in movies to provide a visual such as Jane and Tarzan’s awkward introduction in English.

Or even the classic first contact in Close Encounters. No words are used, but there is certainly communication taking place.

While I love music, I’m much more proficient in the spoken word. I dare say most people are, so why don’t we make a technology interface that mimics the way we interface with each other? By talking. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) via Natural Learning Processing (NLP) coupled with text-to-speech (TTS) and speech-to-text (STT) the interface to technology, the “Human-Computer Interface” (HCI) becomes one where very little prompting is required and people will be able to interact with the system naturally.

Of course, when we interact with each other (us humans that is) we are assuming the cognitive intelligence of our conversation mate is at a level that we can adapt to and match. For example, we don’t talk to a small child the same way we do to a seasoned engineer, medical doctor, or even elderly family members.

Once the fact that we can communicate verbally is established, the level at which we can communicate follows rather quickly. For example, when playing around with the voice input to Google Assistant one quickly goes from “Tell me the weather, please.” in a very formal tone to “What’s the score from last night’s Braves game?” in a very common, conversational tone.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could talk to our computers the way we talk to each other, and they talk to us the same way? For example, Captain Picard (the human) and Lt. Commander Data (the AI android) here.

While conversational computing is great, we also need to be sure that it doesn’t get us into a pickle.

HAL could use some of Data’s insight and reflection on what he’s done.

Sort of like AUTO, short for Autopilot, the Axiom’s first officer. AUTO doesn’t “cooperate” with the captain due to his override orders, but he doesn’t just lock him outside the ship either.

Hopefully, while we can certainly have our conversational AI help us, we don’t give it total control.

AI should be used to enhance and enrich HCI, but while the AI learns to work with us, we should also learn to work with the AI. When that happens, the AI can then start to realize some of the things that we see today in science fiction. Things like instantly downloading new skill sets into our brains, even if from remote locations.

Clark discusses different types of futuristic interfaces (Clark, 2020) including a nod to Neuralink’s direct digital implants, or brain-computer interface (BCI). BCI is certainly a step up from HCI. While the Neuralink BCI was on the horizon when Clark mentioned it in 2020, it’s in today’s headlines. Just imagine where it’ll be tomorrow.

If we have BCI sockets in our heads, maybe, we’re closer to Neo’s and Trinity’s quick-feed lessons than we realize. If so, maybe if we need to fly a chopper at a moment’s notice, we’ll just have to ask. The interesting thing is, there is no keyboard or mouse (at least as we know it today) in any of these fictional examples and spoken language is the primary interface. The AI required for the computer to understand these scenarios is here and getting better every day. We just need to learn the best way to implement and embrace this paradigm shift, because it’s here to stay.

References

Clark, D. (2020). Artificial Intelligence for Learning. Kogan Page.