Future Computers could Express Feelings

In the future, you might be able to talk to computers and robots the same way you talk to your friends.

Researchers are trying to break down the language barrier between humans and computers, as part of a new program from the Defence Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA), which is responsible for developing new technologies for the U.S. military.

The program, dubbed Communicating with Computers (CwC), aims to get computers to humans by enabling them to use spoken language, facial expressions and gestures to communicate.

"Today we view computers as tools to be activated by a few clicks or keywords, in large part because we are separated by a language barrier," Paul Cohen, DARPA's CwC program manager, said in a statement. "The goal of CwC is to bridge that barrier, and in the process encourage the development of new problem-solving technologies."

One of the problem-solving technologies that CwC could help further is the computer-based modelling used in cancer research. Computers previously developed by DARPA are already tasked with creating models of the complicated molecular processes that cause cells to become cancerous.

But while these computers can churn out models quickly, they're not so adept at judging if the models are actually plausible and worthy of further research. If the computers could somehow seek the opinions of flesh-and-blood biologists, the work they do would likely be more useful for cancer researchers.

“Because humans and machines have different abilities, collaborations between them might be very productive," Cohen said.

Of course, getting a computer to collaborate with a person is easier said than done. Putting ideas into words is something that humans do naturally, but communicating is actually more complicated than it may seem, according to DARPA. The project will be on going and is said to reach a break through soon. Well we might be talking to our PC’s in the near future!