Slashdot Mirror
Advanced Chatbot Could Help With Social Awkwardness
mikejuk writes "Researchers at MIT Media Lab are working on an automated personal-computer-based system designed to help people improve interpersonal and conversational skills. The software is called MACH, short for My Automated Conversation coacH (pdf). It makes use of a computer-generated onscreen face to simulate interactive conversations. It performs facial, speech, and behavior analysis and synthesis to emulate human-to-human responses. At the end of the session it provides the user with feedback on their performance. Using a webcam the program can analyze facial expressions, including smiling and head gestures while its voice recognition system analyzes not only what you say but also how you say it and notes non-verbal vocalizations. As feedback you watch the video side-by-side with the analysis of your behavior — see the video of it in action. It has already been shown to improve job interview techniques and other potential uses are coaching in public speaking and dating."
I guess some social skill is better than none, especially for those with serious disorders. This could have benefits.
Yet, somehow this reminds me of Comcast's CableCard activation line. Every time I've called it, I get someone sounding exactly the same... an guy with a truly bizarre, unplaceable and somewhat feminine accent and an equally WTF speech pattern.
Some outsourced call center is training every one of their employees to sound exactly the same, to the point that I've called from multiple time zones, at all hours of the day, and from different numbers/accounts and am still not entirely sure if they have more than a single sleepless extraterrestrial behind the phone. Creepy as hell. And this type of app sounds like just the thing to do that.
Just saying....
Never had to deal with someone with autism i take it? This sounds like it would be perfect for those with milder forms of autism to work on their ability to interact with strangers.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
If these geeks want dates, I think they'd get more benefit out of a Bathbot.
#DeleteChrome
I have no doubt that making a practice speech and then watching yourself on camera can help. People were doing it for ages. Question is if this 'bot' bolted on top of simple visual/audio feedback loop adds any value (or maybe it makes it worse then trying to analyse your performance without hindrance).
A dictionary?! You use a dictionary for improving your interpersonal communication? Perhaps chatbot is exactly what you need.
The paper has a diagram showing a graph of % smile over time. Is this calibrated for those of us who suffer from b**chy resting face / resting a**hole face?
That's not social awkwardness. That's being a sarcastic misanthropic shit. Stop seeing the world like it's made up of machines. Inside each of these "zombies" lives a real human like yourself. Next time you go out to shop try to make their lives a little bit brighter and stop making it all about what you want. You'll be surprised at the results.
How about a chat-bot that simulates a night down at the local-pub ...or better yet, a robot that takes anti-social people there so they can get away from their computer?
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
Now, instead of just communicating with each other -- sometimes awkwardly, I guess -- humans are going to be taught by a computer how to talk to other humans.
... that geeks will start breeding.
Socially awkward nerds build machine for socially awkward nerds to learn to be less awkward.
Talking to girls is only possible if the girls also want to talk to you. Which is only the case if you already have sufficient interpersonal and conversational skills.
It's like with learning a language. If you are sufficiently fluent in a foreign language, it helps a lot to talk to native speakers of that language to improve your language skills. However if you don't understand the language at all, talking to a native speaker is simply not possible.
No, he's right. Zombie apocalypse has broken out where he lives. He survived because the zombies couldn't recognize him as human, thanks to his awkward behaviour. They always think he's already one of them.
No. They are trying to apply a technological solution to a social problem.
Finally!
Piece of advice from someone who has "studied pickup" (yes, I confess to reading numerous pirated ebooks and watching in-field hidden camera videos) and consequently actually getting success with girls: If you really are so shy that you can't say anything to girls, you should start practicing by talking to girls that are obliged to respond positively. That is, go to (clothing) stores and talk to shop assistants - ask for advice because you need to buy a gift for your mother or your sister. Don't have the objective to pick her up (even though it's quite doable when you've gained experience), instead just try to get relaxed when talking to a girl. In general becoming more talkative around strangers makes it easier to talk to hot chicks so if you're not doing it, start greeting your neighbors etc. etc. Being a social person makes you attractive, if you're with a girl and a casual acquaintance just says "hi!" to you, it increases your value in her eyes.
There's only 1 requirement.
Don't be unattractive.
I'm unattractive, a bit eccentric, a tiny bit awkward, but even I manage to strike up interesting conversations with women sometimes. The truth is, it's really as simple as not making them feel awkward or threatened, and coming off as confident.
You don't have to be an alpha male, follow a technique, a jerk, or any of the things people sometimes say you have to do to talk to women. You don't even be "normal". Many women will respond positively to you simply being comfortable with yourself, and not doing something to specifically make them uncomfortable.
In case it's not obvious... you not being comfortable is a good way to make others around you feel uncomfortable. Don't take things so seriously. Relax.