
This Conversation Is Going Nowhere - jkestelyn
https://blog.digit.co/2018/01/31/mobile-app-redesign.html
======
carussell
I've thought for some time now that the real killer app for natural language
assistants—especially voice activated assistants like Alexa, perhaps slightly
less suited for text-based chatbots—lies in short, episodic, choose-your-own-
adventure-style games. The more I think about it, the more I'm not really sure
why this isn't a thing yet, and why we haven't seen a resurgence in the
popularity of interactive fiction—albeit this time for the masses, and not
necessarily limited to those inclined to go load up a copy of Zork.

And content creation is more accessible than ever. I mean, have you seen an
example of what the source code for an Inform7 game looks like?

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inform#Inform_7_programming_la...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inform#Inform_7_programming_language)

To reiterate, it almost seems crazy that there isn't a massive catalog of
$0.99 serials that you can play through in 45-minute chapters while cooking,
driving down the road with the family or on the way to work, etc.

~~~
logfromblammo
That seems sort of like a bad idea. I'm imagining trying to solve the coin-
weighing puzzle of _Spellbreaker_ or the endgame of _Spider and Web_ while
driving, and even with a voice assistant, it ends up like this:

    
    
      Lake (sitting inside the car)
         You are floating on the surface of a beautiful lake.
      Someone has foolishly driven an automobile into it.
    
      > CAR, CALL 911
      The voice assistant cheerfully burbles, "You shout
      '911', but the interrogator is unimpressed by your
      outburst."  The floor upholstery is becoming
      distressingly damp.
    
      > CAR, QUIT GAME
      The voice assistant cheerfully burbles, "Autosaving...
      Exiting GrueFrotz..."  Cold water has risen to your
      ankles.
    
      > CAR, CALL 911
      The voice assistant cheerfully burbles, "Contacting
      Emergency Services!"  Lake water creeps up to your
      calves.

~~~
resu_nimda
1\. What does this have to do with _Spellbreaker_ or _Spider and Web_?

2\. This could very easily be handled with overrides at the OS level for
specific commands.

3\. If this person perished while sitting in a sinking car, trying to arrange
a rescue over the phone, they deserve a Darwin award.

~~~
logfromblammo
1\. They have some intricate puzzles that could be distracting to someone who
is driving.

2\. Yes, it could, but this hypothetical car manufacturer didn't think of
that. They probably don't have a "drive it into a lake" test case, either.

3\. I wrote another "transcript" that ended up with the person escaping, but
seemed like too much text and not enough delivering the point.

------
jkestelyn
"The technology to make AI-powered assistants truly useful is still far out of
reach, and people aren't rushing to close that gap by adapting their
behavior."

Exactly; if you build a bot with the intention of relying 100% on NLP, you're
asking for trouble. But I fail to see how that fact leads to chatbots being
useless when there are plenty of tools available for guiding necessary
optimizations that can lead to a much better experience.

When websites were bad we turned to tools like Google Analytics to make
website development data driven -- we didn't stop building them.

~~~
alexcabrera
To be fair, regular people use websites. Regular people do not use chatbots in
significant numbers

~~~
jkestelyn
I don't disagree but how is that relevant?

~~~
resu_nimda
Because even when websites were "bad," the web was still a successful platform
with wide adoption. Google Analytics came about because the ecosystem was
growing and thriving, not to save something that had failed to gain traction.

~~~
jkestelyn
So analytics are only useful for successful techs with wide adoption? I think
many of those techs got that way because of analytics.

------
douglaswlance
Chatbots should be used to _augment_ humans, not replace them.

For example, one customer service rep can hold discussions with hundreds of
people with the help of AI, rather than just 10-20 without.

AI is an augment, not a replacement.

------
djrogers
As a digit user, this makes me kinda sad - I actually like the chat interface
for basic stuff like checking my balances. Opening an app, logging in, and
navigating a UI that may or may not changed since I last used it is far more
friction than typing ‘balance’ into iMessage...

------
abritinthebay
I loved Digit, but then they changed their model to charge me more for the
same things and the value proposition shifted.

I use Trim now, which actually is more feature rich.

But man I _loved_ Digit's simplicity.

------
Cyberdog
Dear people who have product blogs like this: Please put a global header on
your blog that says "X is a Y that does Z." In this case, "Digit is a service
that helps you automatically save money based on your income and spending."
That way, we get some much-needed context when we stumble across your blog
articles talking about what you've learned by building and selling your
product.

~~~
beams_of_light
Virtually every HN article would benefit from these descriptors as well.

~~~
opportune
Especially Show HN. Perhaps I shouldn't be too harsh as I've never personally
released a product before, but over half of Show HN's leave me asking the
question "what is the actual product" and even more "what is the utility of
this product."

