Re: Can software have human attributes?

["Lurker writer" <lurker_writer -at- hotmail -dot- com>]

Here's one source, Bruce:

...natural language interfaces have in the past led users to 
anthropomorphize the computer, or at least to attribute more intelligence 
than is warranted to it. This leads to unrealistic expectations of the 
capabilities of the system on the part of the user. Such expectations will 
make it difficult to learn the restrictions of the system if they attribute 
to much capability to it, and they will lead to disappointment when the 
system fails to perform as expected (Dix et. al., 1993, Mayhew, 1992 and 
particularly Shneiderman, 1992).

from: Natural Language as an Interface Style

Byron Long, byron -at- dgp -dot- utoronto -dot- ca
Dynamic Graphics Project
Department of Computer Science
University of Toronto




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