The HAL 9000 is a Bad Idea

Computer scientist insists on machines that make people smart (rather than making machines that are smart)

(Palo Alto, CA) A long time proponent of the direct control of computers and the man who coined the term "direct manipulation user interface" will speak at the next CHI conference on Human-Computer Interaction. Ben Shneiderman, a Professor of Computer Science and Head of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory at the University of Maryland, will deliver the opening plenary address at CHI 98. He insists that the best use of computers is to enhance human abilities, and that the goal of making computer user interfaces intelligent or anthropomorphic is misguided.

Anthropomorphic intelligent user interfaces such as those that have recently been appearing in the marketplace have come under severe criticism by Shneiderman and many other user interface experts, and have also been resounding commercial failures. This is because, according to Shneiderman, such interfaces fail to provide a sense of control critical to users of computers. He advocates further development of the type of user interface used on the vast majority of current personal computers, the direct manipulation paradigm, though current implementations fall far short of what is desirable and possible. Advances in this area have the potential to "augment the capabilities of human beings by thousands of times," Shneiderman believes, by providing much better control and greatly enhanced views of the user's information than are available now. Alternatives such as intelligent agent technology fall short in crucial areas and moreover distract computer scientists from working on the truly hard problems critical to advances in direct manipulation interfaces.

Shneiderman will present his views in a talk entitled "Codex, Memex, Genex: The Pursuit of Transformational Technologies" at CHI 98. He will describe a software project he calls "Genex", what he terms a "generator of excellence". Such an environment "would empower personal and collaborative creativity for users" according to Shneiderman.

CHI is the premier worldwide forum for the exchange of information on all aspects of how people interact with computers. The annual conference features a full program of presentations, tutorials and vendor exhibits. Participants from academia, industry, health care and the arts come from around the world. CHI conferences are sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery's (ACM)'s Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI). The CHI conference is traditionally supported by industry organizations. The CHI 98 champion sponsors include: Citibank, IBM, Microsoft Usability, Nokia, Sun Microsystems and Unisys.

The theme for 1998 is "Making the Impossible Possible." Approximately 2,500 participants will examine the future of human-computer interaction from 18-23 April in Los Angeles, CA at the Los Angeles Convention Center.