Is spoken language all-or-nothing? Implications for future speech-based\n human-machine interaction

Recent years have seen significant market penetration for voice-based\npersonal assistants such as Apple's Siri. However, despite this success, user\ntake-up is frustratingly low. This position paper argues that there is a\nhabitability gap caused by the inevitable mismatch between the capabilities and\nexpectations of human users and the features and benefits provided by\ncontemporary technology. Suggestions are made as to how such problems might be\nmitigated, but a more worrisome question emerges: "is spoken language\nall-or-nothing"? The answer, based on contemporary views on the special nature\nof (spoken) language, is that there may indeed be a fundamental limit to the\ninteraction that can take place between mismatched interlocutors (such as\nhumans and machines). However, it is concluded that interactions between native\nand non-native speakers, or between adults and children, or even between humans\nand dogs, might provide critical inspiration for the design of future\nspeech-based human-machine interaction.\n