The Aleph Bot Challenge #1

A New Form Of User Interface: Why are conversational bots an opportunity for entrepreneurs?

To skip this overview and go directly to the challenge rules click here. To apply click here.

In 1968, science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke introduced the world to one of the first conversational interface bots – HAL 9000 – and sparked the imagination of many with a simple sentence “I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” A few decades ahead of his time, Clarke outlined the concept of a highly intelligent bot that could comprehend human’s intentions and execute actions according to those intentions.

Today, conversational user interfaces are leaving the realm of science fiction and are slowly becoming reality. The significant breakthroughs in technology we’ve seen over the past years in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning, now enable us to communicate with computers and devices using Conversational User Interface (CUI). We are no longer restricted to communication with machines and computers through text-based, command line interfaces or Graphical User Interfaces (GUI). Gradually, technology advances are relieving us from the manual tasks of clicking, typing and searching.  

This revolution is already taking over Silicon Valley where every other entrepreneur is developing a bot. A bot (short for “robot”) is a program that operates as an agent for a user or another program. It can also simulate a human activity. Bots can be activated by CUI which allows humans to communicate with bots in the same way we communicate with people. By automating tasks, bots reduce friction cutting down the time it takes to get tasks done.

We use CUIs and bots at Aleph already. Clara (by “Clara Labs”) is a personal assistant bot that combines human and artificial intelligence and saves you from the pain and time-suck of scheduling meetings. Clara is so successful there is now a long waiting list of people who want to join their beta program!

Another company that enables and encourages bot development on its platform is Slack. We have been working with Slack’s Head of Developer Relations Amir Shevat for many years from his time at Google and now at Slack.  He is always at the cutting edge of the intersection between technology and integrating the entrepreneurial community. Below is an excerpt of my discussion with Amir on  the future of Bots, CUIs and the “Bot Challenge” we are announcing today.

Eden: Amir, it’s a pleasure to host you on our blog. I really enjoyed your article about the Era of the Conversational Office and can’t wait to hear about Slack’s progress in this field. What exactly is Slack doing?

Amir: Thanks Eden! Slack is a real time messaging tool for teams with a mission to make work life simpler, more pleasant and more productive. We found a way to get more done, spend less time in meetings, and reduce email load. Our platform integrates with apps and services including Dropbox, Asana, Google Drive, Twitter, Zendesk and more and is instantly synced across all devices.

Eden: It is quite amazing to witness and experience the progress in CUI and the opportunities it holds for everyone. For example, on my way to Summit@Sea I realized I was missing a pair of shorts. Instead of spending 40 minutes googling for the closest store that might sell shorts mid summer, I tried a closed beta of a conversational personal assistant. I asked for a store that sells shorts and is in a walking distance from WeWork Bryant Park, where I was. Fifteen minutes later, I was already at the store (which was approximately a 2 minutes walk) greeted by a salesperson who told me someone had already called on my behalf to confirm that the store actually carries shorts.

Amir, over the last bunch of years you scaled the Google Campus globally and then moved over to Slack to build their developer ecosystem. What made you come from San Francisco to Israel to interact with developers in Israel about Slack’s interest in conversational interfaces? What is special about Israel?

Amir: At the end of last year we launched the Slack Platform where developers can integrate with Slack and create great services and bots over our Slack Platform. Israel has many great startups, so we with AWS and Aleph launched a bots community and ignite the ecosystem in Israel.

Eden: As you know Amir, we announced a “Bot Challenge”. We, at Aleph, see a need to jump start this ecosystem as well. We believe Israeli companies have unique knowhow in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning. This knowledge and expertise could lead to major growth in CUI innovation but for some reason we still don’t see Israeli companies developing bots.

Amir: From what I read about the challenge, it looks more like you want bots to come to the rescue of entrepreneurs, struggling with their time management and building of their ventures. Will that help the entire Israeli bot ecosystem?

Eden: Right. The challenge is targeted at entrepreneurs that are intrigued by conversational interfaces and suffer from lack of time. We published a similar challenge a little over a year ago – the Bitcoin Bounty. The key criteria there was minimizing the cost of a blockchain transaction as we identified this as a key inhibitor of innovation. We have since become a proud investor in the winning team: Colu.

Amir: Why is the challenge so generic? Why can’t you target types of people who can be helped by bots?

Eden: We decided to keep the challenge generic in order to drive as many different approaches as possible to solve a specific but loosely defined problem. We think that targeting a specific audience on the one hand, but not limiting the type of value on the other, will result in a wide variety of conversational approaches and value generating solutions. I am hoping that this challenge will actually give a concrete framework to see whether a CUI is in fact beneficial and helpful. With Karma, our entrepreneur-focused network, we have access to many “test subjects” that are both early adopters and are also excellent judges of innovation & value. Actually, let me turn this question to you: what are the most exciting bot categories / industries / areas that you hope people will submit for the challenge?

Amir: There are many greenfield opportunities for bots – expense reporting, CRM integrations, travel, HR, travel, and more. As you mentioned, you can read more about this opportunity in an article I wrote about it and also some recommendations about how to build great bots.

Can you elaborate on the scope of the challenge and how one can apply? What kind of prizes are waiting for the winners?

Eden: You can apply  here (but don’t forget to read the challenge rules first). We are putting our money where our mouth is. Instead of giving an “investment prize” which the winners usually end up negotiating on, we are granting $50,000 of an uncapped, no discount, redeemable convertible note. We are providing the winner with money to increase their own valuation, at which we will convert.

The prize can also be exchanged with 3 (!) pre-orders of the new Oculus Rift.
This just makes me compete

To read the challenge rules click here. To go directly to the application form click here.