Agents and User Interfaces

Marti HearstSIMS 213, UI Design &

DevelopmentApril 29, 1999

Summary from Last Time

People seem to treat interactive computers as if they were social actors

What are the implications?– for design of UIs– for understanding social interaction?

Building Automated Agents

Computer scientists trying to build believable agents:– ignore the vast psychological

literature on personality– assume representations need to be

rich»need sophisticated natural language

processing and intelligent interaction»need realistic graphics, movement, and

behavior

Anthropormorphia vs Ethopoeia Nass et al. distinguish:

– human-computer interaction is fundamentally social

– not anthropomorphic:» “tending to believe computers are like people”» human users behave as if computers were human,

even though they know they are not

– ethopoeia: » “assignment of human attitudes, attentions, or

motives to non-human objects”

Laurel’s Definition(Brenda Laurel, Interface Agents: Metaphors with

Character)

Anthropomorphism in this context:– Not the same thing as relating to other people– Rather, the application of a metaphor

» metaphors draw incomplete parallels between unlike things

» emphasize some qualities, suppress others

– Two key anthropomorphic qualities wrt interfaces:»Responsiveness»Capacity to perform actions

– What aspects of human-human interaction are left out?

Metaphor of Agency

Using Character to Depict Agency

Drama and film capitalizes on our ability to draw behavioral inferences based on sparse character cues– We can understand/enjoy even one-

dimensional characters– Stories are good only if out-of-

character behavior can be explained causally

Using Character to Depict Agency

Benefits of representing capabilities of agents using characters:– leverages our abilities to make inferences

about and predict likely behavior/choices– invites conversational interaction– doesn’t require detailed development of the

agent» characters in GUIDES interface have faces

obscured; focus instead on period costumes, hair style, and surroundings

– can match the character to the user and/or the task

Agents vs. Direct Manipulation Debates

CHI 97 and IUI 97– Personified in Maes and Shneiderman– Can also be seen as AI vs. HCI

Main Issue:– How much should/can be in the user’s control, how

much done “under the hood” by software? Outcome:

– They agree on a middle ground, that is more user-centric and user-driven.