The workshop proceedings of the co-located workshops “Working with Troubles and Failures in Conversation with Humans and Robots” (WTF 2023) and “Is CUI Design Ready Yet?” shed light on important topics in the field of conversational user interfaces (CUIs).
Working with Troubles and Failures in Conversation with Humans and Robots (WTF 2023)
WTF 2023 focused on the challenges faced by researchers in human-robot interaction, dialogue systems, human-computer interaction, and conversation analysis. The workshop acknowledged that despite the progress made in robotic speech interfaces, they still suffer from brittleness and frequently encounter failures.
One noteworthy aspect highlighted by the workshop is the positive bias found in the technical literature towards the successful performance of robotic speech interfaces. This bias potentially limits our understanding of the true capabilities and limitations of these interfaces. To address this issue, WTF 2023 aimed to provide a platform for researchers to discuss communicative troubles and failures in human-robot interactions. By thoroughly investigating such failures and developing a taxonomy of them, the workshop sought to foster discussions on potential strategies for mitigating them.
This workshop brings attention to the need for more comprehensive research on the failures of robotic speech interfaces. By focusing on these failures, researchers can improve the overall reliability and performance of conversational interfaces, leading to more robust and effective human-robot interactions.
Is CUI Design Ready Yet?
As CUIs become increasingly prevalent in both academia and the commercial market, it is crucial to design usable and adoptable interfaces. The workshop “Is CUI Design Ready Yet?” aims to address the lack of discussion surrounding the overall community practice of developing design resources for practical CUI design.
While there has been significant growth in research on designing CUIs for commercial use, little attention has been given to the development of design resources that can aid in practical CUI design. This workshop seeks to bridge that gap by bringing the CUI community together to discuss current practices in developing tools and resources for practical CUI design.
The workshop also aims to explore the adoption, or non-adoption, of these tools and resources and how they are utilized in the training and education of new CUI designers entering the field. By examining the current practices and challenges in developing design resources, this workshop can contribute to the improvement of CUI design methodologies.
The outcomes of this workshop will be valuable for both researchers and practitioners in the field of CUI design. It will enable better collaboration and knowledge sharing, ultimately leading to more effective and user-friendly CUIs in the future.
For more information about the workshops and their proceedings, visit their respective websites: WTF 2023 and “Is CUI Design Ready Yet?”.