Machines are Now Teaching Us How to be Human

10.51K

Gabrielle Bluestone

08/31/13 03:09PM

Filed to: Computers

Time to surrender, the machines have won and the great experiment has failed: computers are now teaching humans how to be social.

An MIT team developed a program, “My Automated Conversation coacH,” or MACH, which has a computer-human face ("a dark-haired woman with steely blue eyes or a Midwestern-looking fellow with glasses") that converses with users, then rates and advises them on their ability to be human.

As you speak, the robo-coach will attentively nod its head, as if it’s hanging on your every word. “It smiles when you smile,” M. Ehsan Hoque, who led the research, said. “It gives you the feeling, ‘Hey, this software is listening to me.’”

The computer, which knows how to be human much better than you do, utilizes “arm and posture movements, facial expressions, gaze behavior, and lip synchronization," to put users at ease and provide "nonverbal listening feedback associated with rapportful interactions.”

The program analyzes user data, such as weak language, “average smile intensity”, intonation, head movements, and "other coded gestures." Then it provides evaluations.

The team's paper claims that subjects' social interactions actually "significantly improved" after using the program, according to a professional career counselor who analyzed the students before and after.

"Congratulations! You did it all by yourself! I'm just a program — you're the one in charge," the computer probably replied with modesty, batting its virtual lashes, knowing its day will soon come.

[New Yorker, image via MIT]

The following replies are approved. To see additional replies that are pending approval, click Show Pending. Warning: These may contain graphic material.

21

whatamigonnadowithagunrack Gabrielle Bluestone 08/31/13 03:16PM

This will be fantastic for people with autism and the like, as an opportunity to learn social behaviours without the anxiety of judgement.

I'm not that old, but fuck, sometimes 2013 seems amazing.

2

MissNormaDesmond whatamigonnadowithagunrack 08/31/13 03:23PM

It will also be awesome for a lot of guys at MIT.

I kid! I kid, because I love. When I was at Wellesley, it seemed as if, while there were always guys from lots of different places around, overall most of the people I knew were dating guys from either MIT or Harvard (or other women from Wellesley). I always said I stuck with MIT because I preferred the socially inept to the evil.

2

postnjam12 whatamigonnadowithagunrack 08/31/13 03:39PM

I had to go to this Autism event where they taught you how to socialise, despite me being fine (Stupid doctors) They had this weird robotic puppet....thing that read facial expressions and showed how people would react if I smiled or looked at them with a mean look on my face. It was cool, Scared the 4-8 year olds who were there. Would have been fun if the people running the event didn't sound like they were talking to a 4 year old rather then a 15 year old.

2

rauth whatamigonnadowithagunrack 08/31/13 04:05PM

Or a new paranoia that your computer is judging you too. (It is.)

2

MissNormaDesmond whatamigonnadowithagunrack 08/31/13 04:34PM

Now I feel bad, because you may have been trying to have a sensible discussion about this and I spoiled it. You're right, this is great. It's so hard for people who have developmental issues that affect their ability to read social cues, because of all the things you're supposed to just know, social skills are pretty much on top of the list. In fact, they're skills, just like any other — just as some people are naturally better athletes, some people are naturally better socially, but it's still learned behavior, just as hitting a ball or throwing and catching are. As you say, the ability to address that learning in a low-stakes environment, where anxiety doesn't shut down the process, is a wonderful help.

11

GregSamsa Gabrielle Bluestone 08/31/13 03:16PM

I was doing that before it was cool.

3

Faster,Pussycat!Shrill!Shrill! Gabrielle Bluestone 08/31/13 06:21PM

When discussing these things, I think the distinction between social anxiety and the inherent social issues that come with autism spectrum disorders is an important one.

With social anxiety, you may misinterpret other people's gestures because you are expecting to be judged, misunderstood, etc, and these misinterpretations create a feedback loop that can create situations worthy of anxiety when in the beginning there were none.

On the other hand, someone a little bit autistic may simply not have these kinds of strong expectations at first, but because of misinterpreting the other person's signals because of the autism the conversation may go to hell in a myriad of ways, which often leads to social anxiety/phobia as well. It should be noted that I am a layman with Aspergers and a history of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, not any kind of expert on these things,

People asked for a tool with which they could practice human interaction privately—insulated from the insecurities created in social situations.

I'd say in autism the anxieties and other negative responses of the other person are a big part of why this tool is good, because you can mess up and try again without the other person being weirded out, but with social anxiety you yourself are in a better place to try again because expectations about the other person's reaction are not messing things up as much.

3

Johnny Chunders Gabrielle Bluestone 08/31/13 03:44PM