Conversational Virtual Agents, Mobile and Visual Avatars…

March 10, 2011 By

Over at Forrester, Diana Clarkson’s blog brought up an interesting topic – What should avatars look like for virtual agents?

http://blogs.forrester.com/diane_clarkson/11-03-09-what_should_a_virtual_agent_look_like

As you can see, or not see, we don’t incorporate visual avatars with our contentAI virtual agents, characters or mLearning applications (See:  ESLai.com)

Why not?  Especially since the Principals of the company come from a deep motion picture and CGI background?

Basically, the technology isn’t good enough right now for real-time, on the fly,  virtual avatars.  Yes, we could pre-render much of them and pull off some fancy tricks to cover text-to-speech realtime adjustments — But, we don’t find this to be satisfying for the end user.  Frequently, the end user doesn’t want to turn up the volume and listen – Nor do they want to watch…when reading allows them to quickly scan/read or look away and return to the content on their own schedule.

As one comment on the Forrester blog mentions, using the dialogue itself to paint the picture for the end user is consistent with our approach.  The end user’s imagination fills in many blanks.  As we review the (anonymous) chat logs and see 10-20 minute sessions, we know the end user is “buying into” the experience without the aid of a cartoonish animation.

Our preference is for incorporating a video, audio or still image within the first step of a chat session to “establish” the experience, then, let the User create their own “vision” from there.  This also personalizes the user experience more than if we provided a simplistic visual.

We did like the follow up COMMENT from Clarkson on the post:

“I think we’ll see a lot of interesting developments in the virtual agent space with mobile in the coming year.”

In our opinion, that’s starting today!  Right here.

 

Filed Under: AI conversation, Conversational AI, Friendly machines, mLearning, Mobile, mobile marketing, Virtual Agents, writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

mLearning and User Experiences

August 24, 2010 By

As we apply our platform across marketing, entertainment and mLearning — We learn a bit about User Behavior and what works, and what doesn’t, in different applications and markets.

With our http://ESLai.com initiative in full-swing, we’re looking at mobile and mobile learning endeavors and evaluating user interaction, value and the place of mLearning within the matrix of analogue and digital learning materials and Learning Experiences.

Here are some thoughts on the mLearning front…

Interesting take-aways from the @mobileportland “Mobile+Education” night.

Panel = Higher Education, Elementary School + Business participants.

From the Elementary side: great success at 3rd Grade level in introducing mobile learning.  And, from the business point-of-view, great enthusiasm for converting analogue materials to interactive/digital materials.  But, at the College level, the results are not so great.  Learning was not enhanced by utilizing mobile tools.

The obvious question is:  Will those 3rd Graders who spend a larger and larger percentage of their day with mobile and digital learning materials be capable of University level studies in 10 years?  Will they even be able to complete a complex narrative Application to stand a chance at Admissions?

Basically, will extended, linear studies and cognitive processes (i.e. reading a book or writing a paper) be adversely impacted through digital learning — and mobile in particular?

No one knows.  It’s too early to have a good handle on this.

But, it seems that mobile and digital learning tools need to complement, not take-over, traditional analogue learning.  The new tools should drive passion and interest in deepening learning and knowledge vis a vis traditional materials (books and papers).

Creating a better Kindle or iPad will not necessarily create smarter or more articulate students.

Or, will education be dumbed-down to fit the medium?  Will new grading curves be introduced to account for student’s inabilities to engage with extended, linear analogue materials?

The analogy I’m struck with is to Filmed Entertainment, and editing.  Where Audiences today are “lost” if they aren’t fed “quick cuts.”  They can’t stick with a scene unless you constantly ping them through edits.  They fall asleep.

As we engage in the creation of mLearning tools — I’d like to think that our focus should be on creating complementary tools that encourage engagement and passion, yet are a stepping stone to deeper learning experiences that only Teachers and traditional written materials afford.

Filed Under: Conversational AI, iPad, Mobile, writing Tagged With: , , , , ,

More about QR and 2D Tags – Bridges to Transmedia Story Experiences

August 18, 2010 By

We’ve been fans of 2D/QR Tags for almost two years and it’s great to see them moving into the marketplace and gaining some early traction in the States.

The main reason for their appeal is that a 2D/QR Tag creates a “bridge” between two Worlds:  Print and Mobile.  As Producers with a background in cross-platform (transmedia) storytelling for nearly 15 years, in the past, we’ve dealt with disconnected platforms…now, 2D/QR Tags provide a “bridge” between two prime story locations.  Basically, adding a “bridge” to span one media to another makes “transmedia” more intuitive for the End User.

What will this look like?

The most basic example is the Children’s cereal box.  They are deeply engaging and almost always include some storied elements.  With a 2D/QR Tag you can migrate the User to a complementary and allied interactive story on a mobile device.  Done well, the User will acquire story information from the mobile experience that will help them complete their understanding of the story on the IRL physical box in front of them.

Because a bridge, once built, allows you to travel in both directions.

Filed Under: AI conversation, AI conversational network, Brands and Mobile, Conversational AI, QR TAgs, Transmedia Content and AI, writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

QR Tags, Interactive Narrative and PRINT

May 28, 2010 By

Interesting to see 2x articles this week about print books that are including QR Tags for supplemental Content.

From BOOK BUSINESS:  http://goo.gl/jjTD

From 2d Code: http://goo.gl/kAn1

What is fascinating to consider is how QR Codes could lead to interactive narrative experiences are natural to incorporate within linear narrative stories; i.e. making this part of a cohesive story experience, not merely adding access to supplemental Content.

28 May 2010

Filed Under: QR TAgs, Transmedia Content and AI, writing Tagged With: , , , ,

iPad, eLearning, Interactive Stories and Narrative Experiences

April 5, 2010 By

Because nearly every conversation for the past 3 days has circled around to the iPAD, these are our early thoughts:

* It’s wonderful, but it’s limited. It is a digital content consumption tool, with very limited abilities for Users to create anything…particularly, anything original.

* We miss APPLE’s early efforts to get digital creation tools into the hands of the Masses. iMovie, Garage Band and the early compatibility and processing kick for Photoshop were all wonderful (After Effects, morphing tools, etc. etc., going back to the early ’90′s). It would be great to see an iPAD+ that could run programs, not just apps.

* That said, iPAD Apps can incorporate our interactive narrative platform as a component or feature, which encourages the User to be ‘textually creative,’ where we bridge the conversational content to the images (in both directions). We’re reaching out to App developers to see about how we can best integrate with their needs in order to allow the User to be more engaged and creative from their side.

The prospects for eLearning and Children’s entertainment content seems most natural to explore — during this early version of personal tablet devices — where we add-value through the Users ability to personalize and change elements within storied experiences through conversation.

Rush out and buy one? Tempted. But, not enough to head to the store…

5 April 2010

Filed Under: iPad, Mobile, Transmedia Content and AI, writing Tagged With: , ,

Personalizing User Engagement – Interactive Narrative

March 15, 2010 By

We utilize a range of tips, tricks and tools to personalize the story and user engagement so that each User experiences and participates  story specific to themselves…this is done through the narrative and our story engine.

But, as we continue to expand our integration with 3rd Party platforms, we are looking at other methods of personalizing the User experience where we synchronize user data from both narrative as well as visual elements — both images and video.

This  provides a more deeply cohesive and believable experience as it increases the number of possible variations on any theme/story.  While the User’s may receive the same message, they will have received it specific to their engagement, in a personalized form.

One space we see this being highly applicable is the iPad(r) platform, where there’s the screen space to bridge between more elements.  Interactive, personalized eBooks?  That’s one direction.  eLearning?  Another.  More?

15 March 2010

Filed Under: iPad, Mobile, Transmedia Content and AI, writing

AI Story and Shaped Conversations…some thoughts

October 24, 2009 By

“How are you different from…?”

That’s a question we are often asked in our conversations. We re-tweak our site message and PR, but, it’s still a fair question, particularly, when the field of AI conversational agents (“bots”) has been around for awhile and seems a bit stale. That said, we do feel there are Companies doing innovative work with “site agents” who now can streamline a User’s experience in navigating a site, etc., and those are great to see.

But, back to the question — How are we different?

An analogy would be the movie LAST ACTION HERO, where a boy from the “real world” jumps into a movie. Then, later, the “character” from the movie, comes out to the real world. Most AI conversational agents and technology tries to simulate a ‘character’ being a helper or guide in the “real world.”

Here, our interactive story experiences utilize artificial intelligence and interactive writing to bring the “real world User” into the movie (which is the “story”). “Story” controls the shape and experience. And, like a movie, our stories are generally created in Acts, where the AI character has an internal motivation to guide the “real person” to get to the end of the Act, and, then to proceed into the next Act. Simultaneously, we’ve brought the “story” into the real world, put it in the User’s hands (mobile)…thereby, converging the two spaces.

For Brands, this means their message and purpose is more readily accomplished.

For “real people,” the Users, it is a chance to “step into the movie and become part of the adventure.” After all, isn’t that the purpose of “story?” To transport a Person into an experience they want to be engaged and participate?

In summary, our “characters” are not passive, backed up by a database of answers (though, they have that database), but, they are pro-active, in guiding the interactive experience.

24 October 2009

Filed Under: AI conversation, Transmedia Content and AI, writing

Interactive Writing for AI Conversational Content

August 6, 2009 By

Taking a break from the tech side of life, it’s important to note that half of our time and energy is dedicated to creating new interactive writing formats that “shape” the User’s experience within an AI-based conversation.

The closest analogy to this is to how early Altman films were Directed.  We know the beginning and end (and, certain points in the middle), but, the path actually taken by the User evolves during the process.  In the case of interactive conversation, that path is a combination of User Generated input as well as the “content shaping” or “overlay” structures that are determined in the Authoring process.

Beginning, middle and end of the day: Great writing matters.

For writers, it’s a fascinating space to explore.  How do you allow and encourage the User to improvise while also tweaking them to get them to the story points you want them to hit?    Writers do need to understand the breadth of the technology platform to avail of all of the bells/whistles it offers — new features such as “relative emotion detection” that can trigger conversation be moved in a different direction  are all extremely valuable to creating the best User Experience and add new territory for Writers to explore.   Incorporating “short term memory” fields for each individual Users also create a more personal experience for the conversation to unfold – Writers can create characters who are speaking to individuals, not the undefined “masses.”

@contentAI we work with Writers from different disciplines to bring them into the interactive writing process for this platform — that’s part of the pleasure of Producing AI Content.

6 August 2009

Filed Under: AI conversation, writing Tagged With: , ,