Conversational UI is The Future of Human/Computer Interaction

Since its release in November 2022, ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. It amazed laypeople and experts alike with its uncanny ability to understand and produce human language, and within a few months it had become the fastest application ever to reach 100 million users. In doing so, it ushered in a new era of so-called large language models (LLMs), which use gargantuan neural networks and massive volumes of text, garnered mostly from the public internet, to learn the patterns of human speech. Competitors ranging from Google, an AI stalwart, to startups like Anthropic have since released their own LLMs. Meanwhile, the debate around artificial intelligence has shifted from “will we achieve true machine intelligence?” to “when will we achieve true machine intelligence?”.

But what if we have fundamentally misunderstood the implications of ChatGPT and other LLMs? It is natural to view ChatGPT as a chatbot; after all, it’s right there in the name! At the same time, some technology pundits have begun to look beyond this, for instance touting the potential for LLMs to replace current search engines. Why wade through an endless sea of blue links, after all, when a language model can just answer your question directly?

These use cases certainly have merit, and it seems inevitable that LLMs will replace older chatbot technologies and have a major impact on search. The real potential of LLMs lies elsewhere, however: as a new paradigm for human/computer interaction, which we call “Conversational UI”.

“But what’s wrong with the current paradigm?” you might ask. After all, we happily point and click and pinch and tap our way through increasingly sophisticated user interfaces, taking advantage of the latest user experience (UX) research and whizzy touchscreen technology. The issue lies not in any inherent flaws with current interfaces, but rather in their restrictions. Traditional user interfaces, despite their sophistication, still require a certain level of technological literacy and adaptability. They are limited to tasks that can be accomplished using graphical widgets, inflexible navigation systems, and predefined user journeys.

This can present a significant barrier for users who find these systems non-intuitive or inaccessible due to barriers like age, disability, or unfamiliarity with technology. Even advanced users can experience frustration as they battle with the complex user interface of a powerful, feature-rich application. This highlights the need for a more adaptive and user-centric approach to user interface design, where ease and intuitiveness are prioritized for users of all skill levels and backgrounds.

Enter Conversational UI, powered by LLMs like ChatGPT. This replaces complex tasks with simple, straightforward conversations. Instead of navigating through multiple screens to book a flight, imagine that you could simply describe your travel plans and preferences using a conversational interface. The app would then handle all the intricacies of searching, comparing, and booking for you. As well as making these interactions far more efficient, this approach promises to make use of technology more fun, humane and inclusive.

This paradigm shift is not just about replacing typing with talking, or clicking with conversing. It's about harnessing the natural, inherent human mastery of language to interface with technology. Our ability to understand and produce language is one of the most striking and impressive human adaptations. It is what separates us from all other animals, and it has fueled our millenia-long journey from hunter/gatherer societies to modern civilization. Conversational UI leverages our incredible ability to use language to understand complex thoughts and ideas while communicating our intent clearly and concisely.

We feel very comfortable walking into a store, restaurant or medical clinic and interacting with human staff members, expressing our desires and receiving feedback and advice. Conversational UI aims to replicate this natural and familiar experience through the use of advanced technology. By allowing users to state their needs or questions in their own words, it eliminates the need to master and interact with a complex user interface. This not only enhances the user experience for those who are already comfortable with technology, but also opens the door for those who might feel intimidated or overwhelmed by traditional digital interfaces.

There’s a good chance you’ve already seen a Conversational UI in action, especially if you are a fan of science fiction movies. From Star Trek’s ship computer to Tony Stark’s J.A.R.V.I.S., these futuristic examples have long showcased the potential of conversational interfaces. In these works of fiction, characters interact with computers by simply talking to them, receiving immediate, intelligent responses that assist them in everything from daily tasks to critical, life-saving decisions.

It is no coincidence that these portrayals have gravitated naturally to Conversational UI as the user interaction paradigm of the future. This attraction stems from a deep-rooted human desire for simplicity and efficiency in communication. Science fiction writers, in envisioning the future, often seek to eliminate the complexities and limitations of current technology. They imagine a world where interaction with machines is as effortless and intuitive as conversing with another person. We’ve learned since we were babies to communicate using language, taking advantage of capabilities that are, to a large degree, hardwired into our brains. It seems only natural that our interactions with computers will evolve to mirror this style of communication.

It is important to note that Conversational UI can also integrate touch, images, video, audio, and other user interface components. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” as they say, and it is much more efficient for a computer to show you an image of a product, a map, or a step-by-step visual guide, than to describe it in words alone. Similarly, touch gestures or voice commands can complement or enhance the conversational experience, allowing users to interact with technology in a way that suits their preferences and needs best. Once again, science fiction offers excellent examples of this multimodal approach in action. Tony Stark might use voice communication to ask J.A.R.V.I.S. to pull up a data set, which is visualized using holographic projection. He then dives in using touch gestures, punctuated with further voice commands, to navigate and refine the data until he gets to the result he wants.

We stand on the brink of a new era in human-computer interaction in the form of Conversational UI. The evolution from traditional user interfaces to more natural conversational exchanges marks a significant shift in how we will interact with the digital world. The journey of Conversational UI, from science fiction to our everyday reality, is just beginning. It is not just a technological advancement; it is a step towards making technology more accessible, intuitive, and human-centric.