In another step towards computer sentience, M. Ehsan Hoque at the MIT Media Lab created a virtual conversation program called 'My Automated Conversation Coach' or MACH. The program can read your facial expressions and tonalities while you're speaking to understand and analyze what you're saying. Hoque used these capabilities in order to help users speak better and improve their social skills.
MACH works with just your computer, a webcam and a microphone. A 3D on-screen coach is shown so that you can practice doing a job interview. After the interview is complete, MACH will show you your stats and give you recommendations for improvement.
Every gesture, tonality and volume change is shown so that you can improve how you come across. Since this is done with your computer, you can do your conversation coaching sessions in the comfort of your own living room.
Virtual Conversation Software
A Program from MIT Media Lab Improves Your Speech and Body Language
Trend Themes
1. Virtual Conversation Coaching - Technology that uses AI to coach people on improving their social skills through virtual conversations, and presents data on how they are coming across, presents a disruptive innovation opportunity for the education and career industries.
2. AI-enabled Facial Expression Analysis - The capability to read and analyze facial expressions using AI can revolutionize industries in gaming, healthcare or customer service where understanding emotions and providing empathetic responses is critical.
3. Remote Skills Development - With virtual coaching programs requiring just a computer, webcam and a mic, this opens up opportunities for businesses in remote skills development, allowing people to improve their speech and body language from anywhere in the world.
Industry Implications
1. Education - The virtual conversation coaching software can be used by educational institutions to help students develop their conversation skills, providing a valuable innovation to the traditional classroom setting.
2. Career Development - The program's ability to provide users with personalized feedback on how they come across can be used by HR departments and career counselors for hiring and job interviewing practice.
3. Gaming - AI-enabled facial expression analysis has great potential in the gaming industry, where creating realistic and emotionally charged characters can enhance the gaming experience for the players.