The Error Is the Clue: Breakdown In Human-Machine Interaction

Abstract

This paper focuses not on the detection and correction of specific errors in the interaction between machines and humans, but rather cases of massive deviation from the user's conversational expectations and desires. This can be the result of too many or too unusual errors, but also from dialogue strategies designed to minimize error, which make the interaction unnatural in other ways. We study causes of irritation such as over-fragmentation, over-clarity, overcoordination, over-directedness, and repetitiveness of verbal action, syntax, and intonation. Human reactions to these irritating features typically appear in the following order: tiredness, tolerance, anger, confusion, irony, humor, exhaustion, uncertainty, lack of desire to communicate. The studied features of human expressions of irritation in nonface- to-face interaction are: intonation, emphatic speech, elliptic speech, speed of speech, extra-linguistic signs, speed of verbal action, and overlap.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA459168

Entities

People

  • Bilyana Martinovsky
  • David R Traum

Organizations

  • University of Southern California

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Automated Speech Recognition
  • Computational Linguistics
  • Computers
  • Cooperation
  • Dialogue Systems
  • Fragmentation
  • Human-Machine Interaction
  • Instructions
  • Irritation
  • Language
  • Linguistics
  • Natural Language Processing
  • Natural Languages
  • Neurobehavioral Manifestations
  • Recognition
  • Security
  • Speech

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Speech Processing/Speech Recognition.