More Than Just Another Pretty Face: Embodied Conversational Interface Agents

Abstract

this article I describe some of the features of human-human conversation that are being implemented in this new genre of embodied conversational agents. Then I describe an embodied conversational agent that is based on these features. I argue that, because conversation is such a primary skill for humans, and such an early-learned skill (practiced, in fact, between infants and mothers who take turns cooing and burbling at one another), and because the body is so well-equipped to support conversation, embodied conversational agents may turn out to be powerful ways for humans to interact with their computers. However, I claim that in order for embodied conversational agents to live up to their promise, their implementations must be based on actual study of human -- human conversation, and their architectures must reflect some of the intrinsic properties found there. Embodied conversational interfaces are not just computer interfaces represented by way of human or animal bodies. And they are not just interfaces where those human or animal bodies are lifelike or believable in their actions and their reactions to human users. Embodied conversational interfaces are specifically conversational in their behaviors, and specifically human-like in the way they use their bodies in conversation. That is, embodied conversational agents may be defined as those that have the same properties as humans in face-to-face conversation, including:

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