The rise of the conversational interface: A new kid on the block?

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

69 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The conversational interface has become a hot topic in the past year or so, providing the primary means of interaction with chatbots, messaging apps, and virtual personal assistants. Major tech companies have been making huge investments in the supporting technologies of artificial intelligence, such as deep learning and natural language processing, with the aim of creating systems that will enable users of smartphones and other devices to obtain information and access services in a natural, conversational way. Yet the vision of the conversational interface is not new, and indeed there is a history of research in dialogue systems, voice user interfaces, embodied conversational agents, and chatbots that goes back more than fifty years. This chapter explores what has changed to make the conversational interface particularly relevant today, examines some key issues from earlier work that could inform the next generation of conversational systems, and highlights some challenges for future work.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationFuture and Emerging Trends in Language Technology
Subtitle of host publicationMachine Learning and Big Data - 2nd International Workshop, FETLT 2016, Revised Selected Papers
EditorsJose F. Quesada, Francisco J. Martin Mateos, Teresa Lopez-Soto
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages38-49
Number of pages12
ISBN (Print)9783319693644
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 1 Jan 2017
Event2nd International Workshop on Future and Emerging Trends in Language Technology, FETLT 2016 - Seville, Spain
Duration: 30 Nov 20162 Dec 2016

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume10341 LNAI
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Conference

Conference2nd International Workshop on Future and Emerging Trends in Language Technology, FETLT 2016
Country/TerritorySpain
CitySeville
Period30/11/162/12/16

Keywords

  • Chatbot
  • Conversational interface
  • Design guidelines
  • Embodied conversational agent
  • Spoken dialogue system
  • Voice user interface

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