Introduction to Conversational Interfaces

How do you know if you’re talking to a human or a machine?

From corporate chatbots to our everyday interactions with Alexa and Siri, conversational interfaces (where a computer can reply to instructions using natural language) have become increasingly commonplace – and hard to spot.

On this course, you’ll get an introduction to conversational and voice-based interfaces, discovering how they developed and what people working in this field think about them.

You’ll explore how they can be designed and developed effectively and responsibly, and learn about the skills and design thinking you need to develop a successful conversational interface.

Featured in the UK government’s The Skills Toolkit collection.

This course is for anyone interested in new technology, with a focus on exploring conversational and voice-based interfaces and how audiences engage with them, whether you’re a student or looking for a career in computer programming.

You might also be interested in the other courses in the Essential Creative Technologies collection from UAL Creative Computing Institute, Lancaster University and the Institute of Coding.

To take part in this course you’ll need a device such as a laptop or tablet with access to the internet.

• What are conversational interfaces?
• Welcome to the course
• Types of conversational interface
• What does it takes to make a conversational interface?
• Approaches for good conversational interface design
• End of Week 1
• Meet the makers and explore considerations and challenges
• Welcome back
• Building trust in conversational interfaces
• What's next for conversational interfaces?
• Wrapping up