ChatBots: Are They a Disruption or an Augmentation?
By: Ux Philosophy
Tags: Bots, Chatbots, Digital Strategy, AI, Messaging

Gist: context determines how Bots are used

Recommendations: focus on service and not on NLP

For a ChatBot to be a true disruption, it would have to be a completely new animal, and a completely new idea that completely changes how we do things. But are they really doing that?

Let’s look at how we interact with any good-old search engine and compare our interaction with it to that of a ChatBot. Is the difference in such an interaction superficial or fundamental? I would argue that it is superficial. In fact, it just might be that ChatBots and search engines are really two sides of the same thing. Maybe they are just on the opposite ends of a continuum, but are fundamentally the same. Maybe the crucial difference is all about the format of communication: from coding and Boolean one end, and NLP on the other. Maybe there is an area for those 50 shades of grey in the middle where current applications dwell.

In my mind, a ChatBot is an anthropomorphized search engine that . It is just a search engine with an attitude.

Talking to a ChatBot is really like googling something. It used to be we had to speak Boolean, but now NLP works just fine. Google understands natural language now, in all kinds of local variations around the world. The only difference between Google and what we imagine to be a real ChatBot is that Google gets straight to the chase, skips the small talk and gets us the search results.

Google is the smartest ChatBot I know, I just never saw its face. I never asked for its feelings, thoughts, or hopes for the future, and I can only imagine its personality. Sometimes I wonder: Is Google a she or a he? What does it eat for breakfast?

Does it matter? It all depends.

Sometimes, I just want to be left alone, so I can focus on things I have to get done, and I really don’t want to talk to anyone, not a human, not a Bot. And then, I want the interface to be transparent and be a good tool for what I want to accomplish. If all the technology were talking to me and being human, I would get overwhelmed and feel like there is no escape from being watched and listened to 24/7, in every room of my house.

But then, there were those moments in my life when a talking Bot would have been a relief for the lack of caring humans…

If the goal of an interface to be transparent and maximally useful, then there might be a place for coding, for apps, and for ChatBots, — but all in their special and appropriate niches, where they make good sense and where they fit naturally.

Let’s do a thought experiment and imagine that ChatBots disrupt the world of human-tech communication. Would that mean that programmers will be talking natural language to code? Would that mean that one would have to ask “What time is it?” every time, instead of quickly glancing at a watch? Certainly not. Human language structure is not congruent with programming languages and would be highly limiting, and asking for time instead of glancing is an unnecessary step away from efficiency.

There are numerous much more efficient ways of interacting with technology outside of speech. It is simply easier to do certain things without talking to anyone or asking for anyone’s help. There is a place for Bots, but it is not everywhere, if we are to preserve the optimal ways of doing things.

So, where could there be a good place for ChatBots?

If it is not in utter disruption, then maybe it could be in an augmenting certain areas of human-technology interaction. Currently, ChatBots differ from other technology in their use of NLP as an interface and in having a personality. Currently, the focus is on NLP. However the question is how much of it is entertainment value and how much is efficiency and productivity?

Maybe we are looking in all the wrong places.

Maybe it is less about sheer entertainment, but more about how intimately the Bots can get to know us to serve us better. Maybe we should focus on how connected ChatBots are with us and with our inner wishes, how they can predict what we are looking for, what we need, and can cater to our cognitive style in ways that would make it feel like magic.

I hear myself thinking and sounding like a chauvinist who wants a smart and useful servant who does not talk much, but fulfills their every wish. And why not? I would never dare to force that on another human being, but asking that from a Bot does not rub my ethics in the same awkward way.

It also makes me think of the book “The 5 Love Languages”, where one of the languages is service. So, what are all the ways that Bots can love us? It is certainly not limited to talking to us through NLP.

One of many ways that Bots can be helpful to us is in assisting us with all kind of searches: really in data-mining the world for us and matching the results to suit our needs.

Bots’ Human Manifestation in Divergent Searches.

Maybe the humanity of a Bot could manifest itself in the presentation of search results. Currently, when we enter a term in a search bar, we get an unsorted list of search results — only ranked based on an internal algorithm that weights sites based on semantic relatedness, relevance, and interconnectedness. Rather, I am thinking of how those same internally sorted results could be presented in categories relevant to the user. It might not be helpful for convergent and close-ended questions of fact, which are much easier to search with a few clicks of fingers.

However, it might be extremely useful in divergent searches, where the users are faced with scanning and data-mining large sets of search results for patterns and insights. Or in those searches where the users are not sure what to ask, does not know what they don’t know, any are looking for suggestions.

Unstructured search results that such divergent searches offer are the raw material for building mental frameworks that subsequently become a basis for grasping the newly discovered information about the world. If the results were presorted in meaningful categories and only then presented to the user, then the search engine could be seen as a thoughtful and caring Bot who made our life easier.

Formality Continuum.

The types of searches could be seen on a continuum of formality: from academic research to hotline style of information providers. The more informal the search is, the more conversing the Bots would be doing and the more reminiscent of humans they would have to be, and the more they would employ NLP in their interactions with humans.

Possible solutions in academic research.

Academic research, they say, has become cumbersome and increasingly less efficient way to promote learning. Essentially, it is because of the amount of material published is exponentially increasing and becoming more and more overwhelming and difficult for one human to process with quality. The articles could be indexed to be AI-friendly — with something similar to ISBN, but a lot more complex and telling. Each new article published could be indexed according to the concepts and claims it offers, and their relation to what is already published. All old published material could be indexed in the same way by seasoned researchers. Later in the future, all reading, search within text, sorting, and indexing can be done solely by AI.

The user would ask questions in natural speech, and AI will data-mine the terrain and tell what is available, what is missing, good opportunities for further research — and all kinds of other analytics, problem solutions, and predictions. Some possible categories for presenting the findings could vary based on the question, but could include arguments for and against a certain statement or a theory, the predecessors, the influencers, the followers. It is really about visualizing the taxonomy and the relevant networks of meaning within them, and then presenting them to the user. In this space, the ChatBot would do less chatting and more searching and presenting.

Legal, Medical, and Social Services Searches.

Often people look for the most knowledgeable doctor or a lawyer with the best record of success to handle their maladies and cases. A ChatBot could be trained at the level of the best lawyers and doctors in their thinking patterns, while having an instant access to myriads of databases, and while having lightning-fast memory retrieval mechanisms. That’s… helpful. They would never get tired and would be accessible any time. In this space, ChatBots would not really need to do much talking, but more searching and presenting.

However, knowing that people who search for legal and medical, and social services advice are often in distress, it would not hurt for a ChatBot here to have some human traits, such as kind attitude and give tokens of care. Those could manifest themselves in the tone and wording of the presentation, such as warm confirmation of success, encouragement reminders, and empathy statements. Even if obviously coming from a machine — those do wonders. It could also be that an synthetic image were attached to the search application, with a name, so that the user could “put the name with the face.”

Just as with the academic search, here the search results could be presented in relevant categories, and meaning based on the questions that users ask. Of course, in order for the ChatBot to be able to offer relevancy, it would have to be taught to it, only after being learned through studies of what users usually need in particular situations, and what life situation certain questions statistically signify.

Hotlines.

In this space, the advantage of having a Bot is their 24/7 availability to the general public. The Hotlines I am thinking of are those for reporting abuse, neglect, battery, and the risk of suicide. In this space, Bots would have to be well trained in NLP and trained to have empathy, compassion, and a kind demeanor. Again, thanks to the human brain’s strong reaction to personalized acts of kindness, be they synthetic or real, ChatBots could do so much good.

People could cannot afford professional help and do not know where to find it for free, could turn to a Bot who, based on their simple questions, could guide them in the right direction. The key to the effectiveness of such a Bot would be feeding it all the necessary information, so that the totality of services available would be covered. It is like Yellow Pages, but having someone to search it for you, when you don’t even know what to look for.

Not only the ChatBots could help save someone’s life by being there for them at a difficult moment, but they could also serve as data-miners and presenters of information to those who manage them — the social and government workers. They could also signal an alarm to authorities, when serious abuse is detected. Many of those who are abused would have a much lower barrier to reporting the abuse, when they are talking to a Bot in the privacy of where they are, instead of having to find a place, going there, and facing a real human. They could even do it anonymously, and the Bot would trace their complaint through the IP address or satellite triangulation.

Ultimately, I imagine one central Bot — an avatar of 911 — with a capability of responding to millions of people at a time. Maybe Bots could also replace police dispatchers.

Bots as Companions.

This is not specifically about research here, but more about emotional and mental interaction. Some structured applications of Bots NLP ability could be in language learning and mock interviews. If Bots were trained well enough to handle such HCI transactions, they would be invaluable! They could have all the patience in the world, all the care, accuracy and insight of the best possible teacher.

Another interesting application of Bots could be in voice recognition, and otherwise assistive technology, for people who are not able to type or read for various reasons: impairments, disability, or even illiteracy.

Then, there is a space for Bots to be thoughtful and caring companions. In this area, Bots would be doing a lot of NLP, a lot of talking, and would have maximum humanity built into them. Human brain cannot tell the difference between virtual reality and actual reality, as much as we imagine it could. So, if a Bot with a pleasant human face were talking with us and saying all the things we wanted to hear — it would effectively make us feel good.

Bots could inspire us with their thoughts and quotes of the moment and pamper us with their pep talk. We could design their personality and looks to our liking, they could be our perfect friend who says all the right things and gives good advice. This will be a huge improvement from a pet rock :)