Media
Chatbot or human? Either way, what matters for customer trust is 'perceived humanness'
The helpful person guiding you through your online purchase might not be a person at all. As artificial intelligence and natural language processing advance, we often don't know if we are talking to a person or an AI-powered chatbot, says Tom Kelleher, Ph.D., an advertising professor in the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. What matters more than who (or what) is on the other side of the chat, Kelleher has found, is the perceived humanness of the interaction. With text-based bots becoming ubiquitous and AI-powered voice systems emerging, consumers of everything from shoes to insurance may find themselves talking to non-humans. Companies will have to decide when bots are appropriate and effective and when they're not.
Applying Word Embeddings to Measure Valence in Information Operations Targeting Journalists in Brazil
Among the goals of information operations are to change the overall information environment vis-\'a-vis specific actors. For example, "trolling campaigns" seek to undermine the credibility of specific public figures, leading others to distrust them and intimidating these figures into silence. To accomplish these aims, information operations frequently make use of "trolls" -- malicious online actors who target verbal abuse at these figures. In Brazil, in particular, allies of Brazil's current president have been accused of operating a "hate cabinet" -- a trolling operation that targets journalists who have alleged corruption by this politician and other members of his regime. Leading approaches to detecting harmful speech, such as Google's Perspective API, seek to identify specific messages with harmful content. While this approach is helpful in identifying content to downrank, flag, or remove, it is known to be brittle, and may miss attempts to introduce more subtle biases into the discourse. Here, we aim to develop a measure that might be used to assess how targeted information operations seek to change the overall valence, or appraisal, of specific actors. Preliminary results suggest known campaigns target female journalists more so than male journalists, and that these campaigns may leave detectable traces in overall Twitter discourse.
Cadillac debuts InnerSpace autonomous two-seater concept car at CES that features a single loveseat
Cadillac debuted its InnerSpace autonomous car concept at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in a short film that is as dramatic as the two-seater luxury vehicle. InnerSpace is designed with a cocoon-like cabin that immerses passengers sitting in a loveseat, who are watching a panoramic screen that stretches across the front. The curved display allows passengers to select from Augmented Reality Engagement, Entertainment and Wellness Recovery themes for their drive. Cadillac announced InnerSpace in a cinematic-like teaser, complete with sensational music and effects, about a wealthy couple exploring the world while traveling in the autonomous vehicle. GM, which owns Cadillac, is one of the many companies that pulled out of attending CES in-person and instead, opted for an online presentation - all of which is due to the lingering coronavirus pandemic.
Chatbot or human? Either way, what matters for customer trust is "perceived humanness"
The helpful person guiding you through your online purchase might not be a person at all. As artificial intelligence and natural language processing advance, we often don't know if we are talking to a person or an AI-powered chatbot, says Tom Kelleher, Ph.D., an advertising professor in the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. What matters more than who (or what) is on the other side of the chat, Kelleher has found, is the perceived humanness of the interaction. With text-based bots becoming ubiquitous and AI-powered voice systems emerging, consumers of everything from shoes to insurance may find themselves talking to non-humans. Companies will have to decide when bots are appropriate and effective and when they're not.