HCI Research Challenges for the Next Generation of Conversational Systems

As we move past from the deployment of the first conversational systems, a new generation is shaping up with interaction patterns beyond the question and answer paradigms of today. The next wave is likely to include systems with clearly defined personalities, nuanced and emotional speech, and contexts with multiple bots and users. We propose here that a new set of design and interface challenges will rise in the context of those upcoming systems. Among them, we address five challenges which we believe are going to become relevant for the next generation of conversation systems: handling human-machine pidgins, managing language precision, creating and conveying personality, knowing when to speak, and creating the illusion of a mind.