Polite computers win users’ hearts and minds

July 20, 2004 | Source: NewScientist.com News

Computer glitches are a lot less annoying for many users if the machines are programmed to acknowledge errors gracefully when something goes wrong, instead of merely flashing up a brusque “you goofed” message, research shows.

But Jonathan Klein, who builds robotic toys at iRobot, warns that any apology will eventually cease to sound sincere if it is repeated too often.

He believes the answer is software that will ask users to vent their frustration by typing a message, to which the computer provides empathetic feedback, using artificial intelligence to come up with the appropriate response.