kernels of truth: voice and tone for ai conversation | seattle interactive 2017

Kernels of Truth: Voice and Tone for AI Conversation—Milena PribicUX DesignerIBM

#kernelsoftruth@milenapribic

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i really loved the parts of the book

when she talked about the past and

her story entered a sort of daydream

phase? like the way she wrote it

paralleled what she was writing about

yeah. but i’m trying to articulate

what it means to me

A recurring motif in M Train is

nostalgia. Marcel Proust explored

nostalgia in depth.

I do not understand. Please rephrase

your question.

i didn’t ask a question

Let’s return to our discussion of M Train.

How does the author structure the novel?

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natural

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designed

“…we use conversations with each other to learn how to have conversations with ourselves. So a flight from conversation can really matter because it can compromise our capacity for self-reflection.”

Sherry TurkleConnected, but alone? (TED), 2012

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omg the part where it says M Train

feels like “looking through a

rearview mirror”!! that’s exactly

how it felt like

Yeah! Many authors parallel

structure with the mood they’re

trying to evoke. Here’s an article

exploring the themes of nostalgia

and grief through the book:

i really loved when Patti Smith talked

about the past and her story entered a

sort of daydream phase? like the way

she wrote it paralleled what she was

writing about

Review: M Train, Patti Smith on

All the Roads She Has Taken

by Michiko Kakutani

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And even though she can look

back in time, her “car” keeps

moving…

so really, when we look back into

the past, we’re thinking less about

what happened and more about

who we were when it did.

omg the part where it says M Train

feels like “looking through a

rearview mirror”!! that’s exactly

how it felt like

Yeah! Many authors parallel

structure with the mood they’re

trying to evoke. Here’s an article

exploring the themes of nostalgia

and grief through the book:

i really loved when Patti Smith talked

about the past and her story entered a

sort of daydream phase? like the way

she wrote it paralleled what she was

writing about

Review: M Train, Patti Smith on

All the Roads She Has Taken

by Michiko Kakutani

“If I write about the past as I

simultaneously dwell in the

present, am I still in real time?

Perhaps there is no past or future,

only the perpetual present that

contains this trinity of memory.”

Meaningful Conversations

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Phases of Conversational AI Design

Active ListeningEstablishing Context

Building Foundations

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Phases of Conversational AI Design

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EstablishingContext

Establishing Context

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Establishing Context | AI in Education

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1.Chat as Chat

2.Triggered Task Models

3.Search

4.Complex Task Interactions

5. Interactive Information Access

Kris Hammond“Conversation as Interface: The 5 Types of Chatbots”, 2016

“What’s the weather like in

Austin?”


Looking up:

Wingstops in Boston

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1.Chat as Chat

2.Triggered Task Models

3.Search

4.Complex Task Interactions


Kris Hammond“Conversation as Interface: The 5 Types of Chatbots”, 201?


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Systems actually know what you are

asking about because they know what they

are talking about. Provide meaningful

information to us in a way that allows us to

best understand it.

4. Complex Task Interactions

Helping with more complex tasks.

Have knowledge of tasks, the

information needed to perform them and

the ability to track the information that

you have already passed on to them.

Highly structured information

systems.


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BuildingFoundations


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Main Question ExpansionStudent Response

Covered

Spinoza

Liebniz

Student ResponseCovered

Enabling Question

Spinoza

Liebniz

“Which philosophers

contributed to the

Principle of Sufficient

Reason?”

Building Foundations | Dialog Flows

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Main Question Expansion

Enabling Question

Expansion

Student Response

Student Response

Covered

Student ResponseExpansion

ExpansionStudent Response

Covered

Spinoza

Liebniz

Spinoza

Liebniz


contributed to the


Reason?”


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Enabling Question

Expansion

Student Response

Student Response

Covered


ExpansionStudent Response

Covered

Spinoza

Liebniz

Spinoza

Liebniz


contributed to the


Reason?”


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Enabling Question

Expansion

Student Response

Student Response

Covered


Spinoza

Liebniz

Student Question

Spinoza

Liebniz


contributed to the


Reason?”


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Celeste Headlee10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation, 2016

1. Don’t multitask.

2. Don't pontificate.

3. Use open-ended

questions.

4. Go with the flow.

5. If you don’t know, say

that you don't know.

6. Don’t equate your

experience with theirs.

7. Try not to repeat

yourself.

8. Stay out of the weeds.

9. Listen.

10. Be brief.

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Establishing Core Tenets | Foundational Positioning

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Building Foundations | Establishing Core Tenets

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1. Personable

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2. Motivating

1. Personable

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3. Genuine

2. Motivating

1. Personable

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3. Genuine

2. Motivating

1. Personable

4. Adaptable

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Building Foundations | Mapping Core Tenets

- Attentive to opinions and questions

- Confident in the student’s potential

- Eager to help

- Want to know what (and how) the

student thinks

- Straightforward and unambiguous

Personable

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Hello there! 🎉 Let’s discuss the

principle of sufficient reason (which

you’ve recently started learning in

class). Ready?

Tell me about the significance about

Spinoza’s earliest statement on the PSR.

Ask me about the concepts for this

subject or enter help if you’re unsure

about something.

Personable

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Hello there! 🎉 Let’s discuss the

principle of sufficient reason (which

you’ve recently started learning in

class). Ready?



Ask me about the concepts for this

subject or enter help if you’re unsure

about something.

Personable

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Personable


Spinoza holds not only that

the existence of things must be

explained, but also that the coherence,

or incoherence, of their essences (what

others would call their possibility) must

be explained. Similarly, the essences of

things must also have a cause.

You know, it reminds me of another work

by Leibniz… it’s on the tip of my tongue

(err, figuratively). Can you help me think

of it?

monadology

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Personable












of it?

monadology

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- Keep conversation focused

- Review at a steady pace

- Constructive, encouraging feedback

- Clear about progress and improvement

- Assess the responses, not the student

Motivating

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i don’t think i can do this. i don’t

get why this is a theory in the

first place

You’ve already mastered 70% of this

chapter, I know you can do it! What can

you tell me about Spinoza’s relationship

to Leibniz?

Motivating

ok Leibniz’s work actually built a

lot from Spinoza’s earlier ideas.

specifically on dealing with

different domains

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Motivating

You’ve already mastered 70% of this

chapter, I know you can do it! What can

you tell me about Spinoza’s relationship

to Leibniz?



i don’t think i can do this. i don’t

get why this is a theory in the

first place

ok Leibniz’s work actually built a

lot from Spinoza’s earlier ideas.

specifically on dealing with

different domains

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Motivating

That’s it! You're getting this. Try filling in

this excerpt from Monadology and we can

get back to the main question:




of it?

Monadology?

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Motivating

That’s it! You're getting this. Try filling in

this excerpt from Monadology and we can

get back to the main question:




of it?

Monadology?

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- Realistic about our capabilities

- Honest and grounded about our tech limits

- Never skeptical— just curious

- Provide insight and understanding

- Relate to student through our own desire

to learn

Genuine

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of it?

Monadology?

Genuine

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of it?

Genuine

Monadology?

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Our reasoning is based on two principles

______ and ______ .

contradiction and logic

That doesn’t quite match up with what I

have. Our reasoning is based on two

principles: contradiction and reasoning.

Genuine

that’s pretty much what I said


______ and ______ .






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Genuine

Sorry if I’m confused— I’m trained to look

for a specific answer from your reading.

I’m learning from your responses 🙌!


______ and ______ .

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Genuine






Sorry if I’m confused— I’m trained to look

for a specific answer from your reading.

I’m learning from your responses 🙌!

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Genuine

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Adaptable


- Collaborate when necessary

- Resourceful and efficient

- Vary responses and grammar

- Evaluate student’s objectives as they

progress

- Approach problems from different angles

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That’s right. Let’s dig a little deeper…

here’s an excerpt from your reading:

Spinoza holds not only that the existence of things

must be explained, but also that the coherence, or

incoherence, of their essences (what others would

call their possibility) must be explained. Similarly, the

essences of things must also have a cause.

Adaptable

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That’s right. Let’s dig a little deeper…

here’s an excerpt from your reading:

Spinoza holds not only that the existence of things

must be explained, but also that the coherence, or

incoherence, of their essences (what others would

call their possibility) must be explained. Similarly, the

essences of things must also have a cause.

Adaptable

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58


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Enabling Question

Expansion

Student Response

Student Response

Covered


Student Question

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Enabling Question

Expansion

Student Response

Student Response

CoveredStudent Question


GP

G

AM

M

A

M


!!!

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that reminds me of that Descartes

theory on existence

Yes! I think you're thinking of

Cogito Ergo Sum if you want to

refresh your memory.

coool. i have to go i’m kinda tired

Close the chat and take a break!

I’ll be here when you need me.

thanks, it’s nothing personal

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ActiveListening

Active Listening

“For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take them apart and see what they're made of, and wonder if you can make one, too.”

Tom Waits

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Active Listening | Dynamic Voice and Tone

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?!

Active Listening | Personas

… ✓

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Active Listening | Personas

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Fear

Anger

Confidence


i literally hate this chapter, i can’t

remember all the names of these

old dudes

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i literally hate this chapter, i can’t

remember all the names of these

old dudes

Sometimes memorization is the hardest part,

Sofia! Here’s an acronym for the main

philosophers who expanded the PSR:

Laura (Leibniz)

Danced (Descartes)

Around (Archimedes)

Seattle (Spinoza)

awesome, thanks. ok let’s keep

going then— some of these look

familiar!

Personable

Motivating

Genuine

Adaptable

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Repeating

Repeating the message using

exactly the same words used

by the speaker

Paraphrasing

Rendering the message using

similar words and similar

phrase arrangement to the one

used by the speaker

Reflecting

Rendering the message using

your own words and sentence

structure

Carl Rogers, Richard Farson“Communicating in Business Today”, 1987

Active Listening | Reflective Responses

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MeaningfulConversations

Meaningful

Conversations

Meaningful Conversations | Shifting to Meaning

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Pam Pavliscak

MEANINGpurpose, potential,

creativity, challenges

IDENTITYconfidence, achievement, respect

CONNECTIONintimacy, family, friendship, community, participation

TRUSTprivacy, transparency, control, governance, access

BASICSfunctional, easy to use, reliable

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Pam Pavliscak

MEANINGpurpose, potential,

creativity, challenges

IDENTITYconfidence, achievement, respect

CONNECTIONintimacy, family, friendship, community, participation

TRUSTprivacy, transparency, control, governance, access

BASICSfunctional, easy to use, reliable

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Meaningful Conversations | Meaningful Relationships




Meaningful Relationships

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Meaningful Relationships

Meaningful Conversations | Meaningful Relationships

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Meaningful Conversations | Kernels of Truth

The most powerful use of AI in conversation

is creating a meaningful relationship.

We can’t design a meaningful relationship

without a strategy for voice and tone.

“Conversation is a meeting of minds with different memories and habits. When minds meet, they don’t just exchange facts: they transform them, reshape them, draw different implications from them, engage in new trains of thought. Conversation doesn’t just reshuffle the cards: it creates new cards.”

Theodore ZeldinConversation, 1998

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Thank you!

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Milena Pribic

UX Designer

—

[email protected]

#kernelsoftruth

linkedin.com/in/milenapribic

@milenapribic

@ibmeducation

mailto:[email protected]

http://linkedin.com/in/milenapribic