Let’s Get Talking Again with Conversational AI
Talking is synonymous with the human experience, it is how we connect, organise and mobilise with our fellow beings. Humans are simply hard-wired to talk. However, the rise of digital technology has resulted in humans talking less than ever before. Conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the technology that promises to take us back to our natural talkative selves.
In the last 40 years, we have gradually adapted our methods of communication to fit the technological age. We have moved away from natural conversation towards rigid digital user interfaces confined by the barriers of our device. This has undoubtedly manifested into a society that is more disconnected and disengaged than ever before; results are evident, mental health issues are now epidemic.
It is remarkable that as human beings we have evolved our communication to meet the limited capabilities of our technology rather than focusing on evolving our technology to meet our innate desire to talk. Conversational AI demands that our devices and applications speak our language, the keyboard is now legacy and to be remembered fondly, like the typewriter.
One of the places where this revolution is playing out is in the introduction of conversational interfaces to the Enterprise. Businesses are experiencing unprecedented disruption. Customer expectations are changing at a rapid pace. Businesses are increasingly required to communicate with prospects and customers at any time of the day, over any channel with intelligence and meaning. Enterprise leaders are turning to solutions to meet heightened customer expectations but risk losing that interactive human-like experience that customers demand. We are now starting to see this in the evolution of the enterprise, from touch and screen to voice-driven solutions, for solving universal business problems, such as rising demand and supply failure.
Next-generation Conversational AI platforms, solve big problems by providing human-like intelligent, contextual and consistent interactive engagement over every channel; including voice, social media and messaging applications. We have all watched in awe (and envy) as Iron Man speaks to his personal assistant ‘Jervis’ to gain incredible insights and advantages. This sort of experience is within our reach and no longer confined to the world of Holywood. Mesh AI Conversational interfaces are now looking at ways to provide a voice to stroke victims, exploring capabilities to help understand autistic children, to potentially act as personalised therapists, doctors and lawyers. Conversational AI will not reduce human engagement, but rather empower human intelligence and unlock our true potential. It's not about the machine it's about the human.
Getting smarter as they go, our virtual selves will have the potential to become digital friends and supporters in what can be an isolating world. They have the capability to help us optimise our own lives and democratise the age of information by allowing those with the limited technical capability to access the bounties of the digital world through the basic human function of talking. Imagine simply being asking a basic question like; “ how are you doing today ?”, could potentially change someone's world if battling disconnection and isolation.
Conversational AI will break the silence of technological age and get us talking again, instead of clicks, we will simply have conversations in the natural way that humans have evolved to excel in. Conversational AI will change the way we interact with technology, integrating the next phase of human evolution; back towards the social and engaged beings that we all are. What are you doing to embrace our new future?
