Course description
Texting is how we communicate now. We talk by typing tiny messages on our screens—we message using SMS, or through apps like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
How we use words is key for machines to be connecting with other humans online, just as it is in the so-called “real world.” Engraining interfaces with the attributes of conversation can be powerful. However, as computers mediate our attitudes and relationships, even more, anyone thinking about digital conversational products and services is in a challenging place. Just as Graphic User Interface (GUI) design is important for building great traditional apps, Conversational Design is important for crafting great conversational interfaces. With minimal visual clutter, texts can deliver information, personality, humor, and narrative. How do we leverage language, the communication system humans learned and embodied from their birth?
This course is meant to provide a glimpse into the process of building great conversational experiences (CX). We will be using a project-based learning approach. Participants will have a hands-on with the challenge of their choice. You will learn how to design conversational flows, how to work with conversational data, and how to make digital systems feel less robotic and more “real”. Whether you work with interface design, front-end technology, or content design, you will learn why the conversation is the fascinating model for creating device-independent, human-centered systems.
Course tools
Microsoft Azure, Node.js, Python, Anaconda, UML, Git
About the lecturer
Nikita Lukianets
Founder and CTO at PocketConfidant AI that designs, develops and deploys automatically generated coaching conversations to help people live and work better together. Before starting PocketConfidant, he received a highly competitive fellowship from SIGNALIFE Ph.D. program in life sciences and worked on supervised and unsupervised learning algorithms for neuronal classification, bridging approaches in neurobiology and statistical learning. Nikita is also a founder and researcher at Open Ethics initiative that fosters the inclusive dialogue between experts and citizens to design systems where humans and AI successfully work together. Nikita has been an active contributor to French and Ukrainian User Experience communities focusing on the topics of usability and Natural User Interfaces.
