Have you talked to your computer today?

Ever see a normal paragraph of text in a programming editor? Words appear in different colors because the editor recognizes them as commands or reserved words. I find it poignant. After all, it is an attempt to understand. There's something beautiful about that.

I heard there's this new Open Source Mozilla thing called Ubiquity that will let us instantly incorporate maps, weather, and whatever else by listening to what we write and trying to figure out what we need. I see a poetic justice to this, how computer started with commands, went to a Graphical User Interface, and now are taking commands again. Yes, we're talking to our computers again!

I remember when Artificial Intelligence turned into Natural Language. Instead of teaching a computer to think, we would teach a computer to talk... or to listen. People have been working very hard on this for a long time. From what I've heard, it's a really really hard thing to do. That difficulty fascinates me. A computer can beat Karpov at chess but can't chat with him about the weather. Not even in a dull sort of way.

The Goats in the Machine

Dontcha hate an interface that doesn't do what you think it will do?

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I have created an interface that matches the design of the data, but not the use to the user.

Or an interface that wants too much: after thoughtfully picking and choosing the contacts I want to add to LinkedIn, and sending invitations, I find myself at the same page, with all the remaining contacts now selected (the ones that I very specifically and purposely did NOT select).

My programming brethren, I implore you, don't do that! Let's all promise to make sense from now on. There is a difference between "idiot-proofing" an application and writing a program exclusively for idiots.