Artificial intelligence and the disappearance of non natural interfaces
How natural language conversation with machines leads to the disappearance of the user interfaces (UI) and technology.
#AmbiantIntelligence #AmI #VUI #ConversationalAgent #HMI #NUI #FilterBubbles #Anthropomorphism đ«đ· Version française
The fate of computers, like all mass technologies such as electricity, paper or running water, is to become invisible, that is, to blend in with our lives, to be omnipresent and nowhere to stand silently at our disposal. Michio Kaku in Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 (2011)
Technological friction is this common but relatively undocumented experiment that entrepreneur and data researcher Rand Hindi describes in the introduction of his TEDxPARIS conference. He tells us how we are victims of âhallucinationsâ when we feel, close to our pocket, a ghost vibration that seems to be appearing from our smartphone device, whether we have it or not with us.
Coming from a distance and not without a twist, the concept of technological friction has been reified / materialized only through our acceptance and progressive invitation of technology in our daily lives and our habits, from the Web 1.0 to the Web 3.0: the semantic web in which we currently are.
The nomadic and digital effects that have emerged since the advent of the satellite-connected phone have evolved dramatically intrusivly into the lives of users / consumers. The latter, although aware of having an inorganic extension at their fingertips and due to their bathing in the ambient intelligence* are victims of attention disorders, mental pollution, nomophobiaâsee FOMO Fear Of Missing Out) and other contemporary OCDs (Obsessional-Compulsive Disorder).
* Designated by the European Commission and synonymous with ubiquitous computing â Wikipedia
* Nomophobia is a phobia linked to the excessive fear of being separated from oneâs mobile phone. Scientists have formalized this idea of ââfear of cutting by the acronym FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) â Wikipedia.org
Behind these syndromes hides the arrival of the third era of computing: ubiquitous computing (âubicompâ), first used by Mark Weiser of Xerox PARC to designate his vision of the future, around 1988, about 15 years after inventing, with his Motorola team, the first mobile phone. Computing is indeed at the forefront and acts as a chief orchestra in this contemporary societal paradigm, responsible for the digital transformation.
The release of the first iPhone in 2007 with the integration of the web browser, the geolocation and later the camera within the same object prepared the sprawling phygital field (contraction of physical and digital terms), which is most often closed by proprietary ecosystems.
The evolution of smartphones usages from 2008 to 2020 illustrated by the data just below helps to apprehend the phenomena of servicalization of the economy and digital transformation.
Most accessible and used smartphone services in 2012:
Number of available apps on the Apple App Store from 2008 to 2020:
The exponential growth in the number of applications released on online apps platforms in recent years demonstrates the idea that our service society needs more communication, innovation, complexity, speed and data than ever to get all the necessary feedback and data for any current system optimization and improvement.
If you can skip the use of a watch, of an agenda or a camera, it is hard to consider a day without phone or internet connection and increasingly difficult for the modern user to take a step back and slow down in the face of the ever-accelerating world of work.
According to Google data and analytics evangelist Luigi Reggiani at a recent in Paris, the assistive era is a revolution and its components are to be ambiant â by being permanently and globally connected â and augmented, meaning being pushed towards the needs and expectations of the users. They, most of the time, relate to the fluidity and speed in the exchanges and interactions within digital ecosystems.
This is mainly why voice interaction remains the most technologically and successful manifestation since the development and introduction of Siri up to M of Messenger, Ozlo or Viv. One of the main reasons for the success of this new form of interaction is that one speaks about 7 times faster than one writes by hand and 3 times faster than the keyboard.
Conversational agents, the new house geniouses
According to research firm Gartner, 20% of interactions we will have with our smartphone in 2019 will be through personal assistants.
Considered as being hands-free + eyes-free, virtual assistants or VUIs (Voice User Interfaces) are designed to be accessible and integrated at each point of contact of our daily journeys via a passive listening of the consumer, while waiting for pass phrases/keywords to fulfill the stated wishes.
« (âŠ) Siri inaugurates a proactive age of computing and therefore belongs to a new generation of tools that manufacturers call âdo enginesâ in reference to the older category ofâ search engines â, these search engines of which Google remains the iconic representation. » Usbek & Rica (2016)
Like connected objects and as Nicolas Santolaria writes in his book (in french) Dis Siri, VUIs have widened the spectrum of possibilities by penetrating the class of action-oriented objects instead of the common research one.
« The best interface is no interface » Golden Krishna (2012)
These ânewâ human-machine interactions that were envisioned around 1950 along with the Turing test allow uses that simplify technology to the point of removing their physical support, and even to make the consumer forget the artificial intelligence present via software on different servers or embedded in case of offline usage.
Since the introduction of personal assistants like Siri with the release of the iPhone 4S (October 2011), the consumer has access, if connected to the network, to the manufacturer databases (AIs) allowing them to perform any request and action through speech; from knowing the weather to sending an email without hands, the use of voice as an interface gives many opportunities in terms of accessibility and interaction with the machine whose fiction inspires us since HAL 9000, K 2000, Jarvis (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System) and many others.
Although the design and production of anthropomorphic robots is complex and expensive, digital innovators are committed to AI and the invisibility of technology in order to:
âą Simplify and accelerate user interactions to meet growing demand for this
âą Visually disconnect ubiquitous screens, to allow users to re-appropriate their attention abilities, and paradoxically reconnect with the âhumanâ touch.
The disappearance of screen interfaces in favor of natural interfaces is characteristic and closely linked to the growing interest in the optimization of experiences proposed via the user, client and employee experience (UX/CX/EX).
âA physical object that disappears into the experienceâ âJon Ive about the iPhone X
Since CES 2017 and the show of strength of the integration of personal assistants in the domestic ecosystem, another phenomenon appeared in the media: AI washing (the practice of abusing the term AI). Invited to the public space âif we refer to the volume of created content, and this article is part of it (the content ;)â the growing phenomenon around AI has led to the foresters and public figures speech to define the contours and to attempt to raise awareness around the societal issues on tomorrowâs education.
« This voice control omnipresence is making two victims: the graphical interfaces and the material dimension of the products. » Olivier Ezratty on CES 2018.
Edward Snowdenâs revelations as well as Eli Pariserâs filter bubbles theory demonstrated the range of the consequences of poor data management to the public (orchestrated by the AI ââfrom our smartphone) on privacy and highlighted the mechanisms of exposure to fake news. This unfortunately did not prevent the last US then French election crisis, nor the vote of the FCC repealing net neutrality.
« Customization is based on negotiation. In exchange for the filtering service, you are giving large companies a huge amount of data about your daily life â which you could not trust your friends for a lot of that data. » Eli Pariser, The Filter Bubble: How the New Personalized Web Is Changing What We Read and How We Think
However, the minority of people, from designers to leaders to innovation actors, aware of these topics, must communicate around the decisions that impact the long-term usages of the user, consumer, customer, employee etc.
It is up to us to foresee the right conception models and to render the information to favor the emergence of the most adapted contemporary lifestyles practices.
In summary
- Through ubiquitous technology, artificial intelligence is at the center of nomadic usage and the trend is towards acceleration.
- Anthropomorphism is a devious way of creating a connection despite the fears of technologyâs Great Replacement.
- The wave of IA washing should ultimately have a beneficial effect through popularization and awareness of education societal issues.
Bonus fact
- According to a McKinsey Global Institute study,
Half of todayâs global workforce tasks could potentially be automated by adapting currently demonstrated technologies.
âThe real problem with the interface is that it is an interface. Interfaces get in the way. I donât want to focus my energies on an interface. I want to focus on the jobâŠI donât want to think of myself as using a computer, I want to think of myself as doing my job.â Don Norman in 1990
