ADDC 2018 - Cristina Santamarina: Humans vs Bots: Typos, Trolls and other challenges for NLP

Humans vs Bots explores the technical limitations of NLP in a world of high expectations.

A mix of faster computers, a more mature artificial intelligence field and the growing collaboration of technologists and humanists is shaping the new generation of conversational interfaces. How much magic is there really involved and where are we in the practice? How are real chatbots from real brands performing?

In this talk Cristina Santamarina will review the 10 most important natural language challenges she faces when designing conversational interfaces. From slang and typos to rants and trolls she will provide examples and propose dialogue design techniques that can help mitigate them.

More about the talk, authors & slides: https://addconf.com/2018/schedule/humans-vs-bots-typos-trolls-and-other-challenges-for-nlp/
Read about the conference: https://addconf.com

Transcript

1. Humans vs Chatbots @CRISSANTAMARINA
9. @ tnpgram
14. @ tnpgram
25. FEATURES LANGUAGES SLANG MISTEAKS LONG INPUT EMPATHY CONTEXT ABBREVIATIONS TROLLS REFERENCES 10 COMMON CHALLENGES IN NLP CHATBOT PROJECTS @ tnpgram
26. FEATURES
31. Basic features What’s the single most important action your users want to complete using your bot? Surveys, workflow support, online shopping, daily news, storytelling… pick your most important features and polish them until they’re smooth 1 Navigation and Support Once the basics are ready, make your chatbot better. Reorient users to the happy path, answer FAQs about chatbots and navigation and get your users human help when the chatbot can’t handle the conversation alone. 2 Small talk If you have minimised errors now you can improve your chatbot with small talk, cultural references, answers to other questions… Learn from the input your chatbot can’t process to discover new features. 3
33. FEATURES • Have a purpose and focus • Build from the bottom up • Start stating your purpose and limitations • Help lost users discover features • Use buttons and rich elements as support • Don’t get trapped in small talk What to do about?
34. LANGUAGES
38. LANGUAGES • Focus on your market • Use your tools right • Use the right tools What to do about?
39. CONTEXT
44. CONTEXT • Quick, simple • Diagram your processes and subprocesses • Use buttons and other rich elements • Use your tools right What to do about?
45. LONG INPUT
47. LONG INPUT • Consider limiting input length • Most long inputs are trolls or lost users What to do about?
48. EMPATHY
51. EMPATHY • Do you really need pre-processing? • Pay attention to the most important keywords • Emojis are the way we express feelings online What to do about?
52. SLANG
54. SLANG • Reconsider your need to accept slang input • Analyse the way your users talk • Don’t sound TOO cool What to do about ?
55. MISTEAKS
58. MISTEAKS • Think: how literate are your users? • Use quick replies! • There’s some magic involved in this • Be creative: Think of ways to mess up words • The Real World™ will help you get better What to do about?
59. REFERENCES
62. REFERENCES • Focus on the happy path • Analyse users to select important references • Be up to date with news and memes • Use references as a wow / PR effect What to do about?
63. ABBREVIATIONS
65. ABBREVIATIONS • Add common abbreviations • Think of vertical-specific language • Train on demand What to do about?
66. TROLLS
67. TIME + WORDS = $$$
68. TROLLS • Look for long conversations and long entries • Block recurring trolls • Use trolls to improve your sarcasm • Don’t let them distract you, always redirect! What to do about?
70. Learn. By. Experience
71. FEATURES LANGUAGES SLANG MISTEAKS LONG INPUT EMPATHY CONTEXT ABBREVIATIONS TROLLS REFERENCES 10 COMMON CHALLENGES IN NLP CHATBOT PROJECTS @ tnpgram
72. THANK YOU! Questions? @CRISSANTAMARINA CRISTINA@THENEONPROJECT.ORG