Laughing Robots: The Next Leap In Chatbot Innovation – CDOTrends

Many of us are now having conversations with robots. But how many times does the robot you are talking to laugh at your jokes?

Right now, the answer would be zero. Most interactions with robots are limited to fundamental questions of whether it is a billing or service inquiry. But if Japanese researchers are successful, your conversations with robots could soon be punctuated with laughing at appropriate points.

Robotic laughter is seen as something of a holy grail among researchers in the area of conversational artificial intelligence.

If robots could laugh in conversations, it would make the experience more authentic and create momentum for adopting conversational AI into many different areas of customer experience.

We think one of the important functions of conversational AI is empathy, said Koji Inoue, an assistant professor of informatics at Kyoto University.

Conversation is, of course, multi-modal, not just responding correctly. So, we decided that one way a robot can empathize with users is to share their laughter.

Inoue and his team have published a study in the journalFrontiers in Robotics and AI, and have been experimenting with an advanced humanoid robot called Erica, using it or her as a platform for studying human-robot interaction.

Male students from Kyoto University took turns chatting face-to-face with Erica as amateur actresses in another room teleoperated the robot through microphones.

These interactions saw the creation of four short audio dialogues between humans and Erica, who was then programmed to use levels of laughter at various points in her conversations.

These were then rated based on empathy, naturalness, likeness to humans, and understanding.

While it is a start, Professor Inoue concedes that it could take a long time to teach robots to laugh appropriately in conversation.

It may well take more than ten to 20 years before we can finally have a casual chat with a robot as we would with a friend, he said.

Cognitive libraries

The Japanese experiments with Erica are part of significant momentum for conversational AI an industry estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24%. By 2030, the global chatbot market will be valued at over USD4 billion.

Already, chatbots are successfully easing the pressure for many organizations as a front line for customer reception.

The newly launched chat of theIndian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporationhas been used by over 1 billion people in its beta launch.

It may well take more than ten to 20 years before we can finally have a casual chat with a robot like we would with a friend

Some other global applications while not including laughter are pushing the bounds of innovation.

In the New Zealand city of Auckland, for example, conversational AI is used to create virtual patients who teach medical students how to be empathetic.

The University of Auckland project is working with scientists from theUniversity of Floridas Virtual Experiences Research Groupto build these virtual patients, which appear on the screen and can converse with the student using a chat function.

The plan is to adapt five of these virtual patients to give them the ability to express emotions and preferences and also ask questions through the creation of a cognitive library.

I think the way empathy works is we learn throughout life how things feel in our bodies, said Monika Byrne, a doctoral candidate at the University of Auckland.

Then we build this cognitive library of human experiences and emotions that go with them such as what its like to be in emotional pain, for example, to lose a partner or to fail.

The project plans to enable the virtual patients to express these complex emotions so that the student doctors can respond as part of their empathy training.

The world of sports is also adopting conversational AI. In the U.S., NBA franchise the Milwaukee Bucks is partnering with San Francisco-based GameOn Technology to implement new features on the teams website, answering gameday questions such as when do the doors open and how late can I stay past the ending of a game or concert.

Instead of you having to go into our website or mobile app and scroll down a long list of things, we want our guests to be able to ask things conversationally and the software to interpret and match you with the best answer to the questions you have, said Robert Cordova, the Bucks chief technology and strategy officer.

Next level chatbots

Conversational AI is not just about the time the human spends talking with the bot; it also integrates with other technologies, such as automation and data-based applications.

Indian companyUniphorehas been working with conversational automation platforms since its inception in 2008, and is now one of the leaders in the industry.

The company offers a sophisticated platform which combines conversational AI, enterprise grade RPA , biometrics and workflow automation to blend front and back office operations.

The platform today optimizes the entire conversational cycle across multiple customer service channels in 100-plus global languages, said Ravi Saraogi, Uniphores co-founder.

Saraogi explains that the Uniphore AI analyses all conversations and is able to categorize people into different age groups and genders so that the AI can respond more appropriately.

Our key objective is to drive business benefits, added Saraogi.

It can be cost and efficiency gains; it can be revenue enhancements; it can be about improving the customer experience. And the best way to know the problem is by listening to what your customers are saying because they arethe ones giving you your revenue and your profits.

Lachlan Colquhoun is the Australia and New Zealand correspondent for CDOTrends andtheNextGenConnectivity editor.He remains fascinated with howbusinessesreinventthemselves through digital technologytosolve existing issuesandchange their entire business models.You can reach him at[emailprotected].

Image credit: iStockphoto/StudioM1

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Laughing Robots: The Next Leap In Chatbot Innovation - CDOTrends