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

Michael F. McTear

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-69365-1_3

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

Michael F. McTear

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

78 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 language	English
Title of host publication	Future and Emerging Trends in Language Technology
Subtitle of host publication	Machine Learning and Big Data - 2nd International Workshop, FETLT 2016, Revised Selected Papers
Editors	Jose F. Quesada, Francisco J. Martin Mateos, Teresa Lopez-Soto
Publisher	Springer Verlag
Pages	38-49
Number of pages	12
ISBN (Print)	9783319693644
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69365-1_3
Publication status	Published (in print/issue) - 1 Jan 2017
Event	2nd International Workshop on Future and Emerging Trends in Language Technology, FETLT 2016 - Seville, Spain Duration: 30 Nov 2016 → 2 Dec 2016

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume	10341 LNAI
ISSN (Print)	0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)	1611-3349

Conference

Conference	2nd International Workshop on Future and Emerging Trends in Language Technology, FETLT 2016
Country/Territory	Spain
City	Seville
Period	30/11/16 → 2/12/16

Funding

Around the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the emergence of more powerful and more accurate speech recognition engines, spoken dialogue systems began to appear. Early examples were the ATIS (Air Travel Information Service) in the USA, [6], while in Europe SUNDIAL was a major project funded by the European community [12]. Later systems include MIT’s Mercury [19], the DARPA Communicator systems [24], Ravenclaw8, and TRIPS [2].

Keywords

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

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-319-69365-1_3

Cite this

McTear, M. F. (2017). The rise of the conversational interface: A new kid on the block? In J. F. Quesada, F. J. Martin Mateos, & T. Lopez-Soto (Eds.), Future and Emerging Trends in Language Technology: Machine Learning and Big Data - 2nd International Workshop, FETLT 2016, Revised Selected Papers (pp. 38-49). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics); Vol. 10341 LNAI). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69365-1_3

McTear, Michael F. / The rise of the conversational interface : A new kid on the block?. Future and Emerging Trends in Language Technology: Machine Learning and Big Data - 2nd International Workshop, FETLT 2016, Revised Selected Papers. editor / Jose F. Quesada ; Francisco J. Martin Mateos ; Teresa Lopez-Soto. Springer Verlag, 2017. pp. 38-49 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)).

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McTear, MF 2017, The rise of the conversational interface: A new kid on the block? in JF Quesada, FJ Martin Mateos & T Lopez-Soto (eds), Future and Emerging Trends in Language Technology: Machine Learning and Big Data - 2nd International Workshop, FETLT 2016, Revised Selected Papers. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), vol. 10341 LNAI, Springer Verlag, pp. 38-49, 2nd International Workshop on Future and Emerging Trends in Language Technology, FETLT 2016, Seville, Spain, 30/11/16. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69365-1_3

The rise of the conversational interface: A new kid on the block? / McTear, Michael F.
Future and Emerging Trends in Language Technology: Machine Learning and Big Data - 2nd International Workshop, FETLT 2016, Revised Selected Papers. ed. / Jose F. Quesada; Francisco J. Martin Mateos; Teresa Lopez-Soto. Springer Verlag, 2017. p. 38-49 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics); Vol. 10341 LNAI).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

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AU - McTear, Michael F.

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N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

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PB - Springer Verlag

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ER -

McTear MF. The rise of the conversational interface: A new kid on the block? In Quesada JF, Martin Mateos FJ, Lopez-Soto T, editors, Future and Emerging Trends in Language Technology: Machine Learning and Big Data - 2nd International Workshop, FETLT 2016, Revised Selected Papers. Springer Verlag. 2017. p. 38-49. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)). doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-69365-1_3

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

Abstract

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Keywords

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