Closing Keynote: The computers have joined the chat: A short history of conversational AI
The way humans interact with computers has changed massively since conversational AI platforms entered the scene. We used to tell computers what to do by typing instructions or clicking on buttons or links. Now, large language models (LLMs) work by understanding our intentions. It sounds kinda creepy that a computer might be able to guess what we’re thinking…but this doesn’t happen in just one take. Instead, platforms like Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity rely on back-and-forth conversations to learn what people want. Basically like humans do everyday IRL.
This is already changing the way we interact with computers - and each other - forever. But how on earth did we get to this point?
During his keynote, Larry McGrath will take us back to the beginning and show us how everyday dialogue shaped the development of conversational AI. He’ll also explain how the study of human behavior can improve the design of these intention-based platforms, so that we might eventually interact with AI as if it were human. This isn’t the start of a sci-fi film - research in this area is developing fast - so join us to learn how finding commonalities between human and artificial conversations can actually help humans connect more.
