I hope agents will make people feel more comfortable dealing with the overload of information, more in control. Confident agents are working on their behalf, are reliable, and never become tired; they are always looking to help the user.
Users will have less difficulty accepting agents if they gradually gain their trust. Trust has to be earned, and that always takes time.
We never will get 100 percent accuracy – [intelligent] agents will always make mistakes.
It’s going to be impossible, if it isn’t already, for people to deal with the complexity of the online world. I’m convinced that the only solution is to have agents that help us manage the complexity of information. I don’t think designing better interfaces is going to do it.
People were very self-confident … They put forward a goal that was ambitious, and that I believe we may never achieve: to build agents that are very intelligent, have common-sense knowledge, and understand why people do things. AI researchers have been trying to do this for 15 or 20 years, and haven’t seen significant results.
The Nick at Nite Online service will be the preeminent nerve center for all aspects of classic TV and pop culture. It is the ultimate theater, library, clubhouse and meeting place for the millions who have the common bond of “Good TV.” In a sense, it is the virtual rec room for the TV generation…. Nick at Nite Online is also the place for interaction with classic ads, games, music, products, experiences, events, movies and other forms of pop culture.
Some claim Microsoft is … creating an unfair playing field for those who don’t have access to the proprietary operating system. The question becomes: Will Microsoft do it again in the online world?
Litigation … sends a strong message in the insular and deal-driven media industry: don’t mess with Viacom’s right to get to market. Such a message may ultimately force competition away from the current cable and online model – in which companies compete to slice up and own segments of the market – to a model in which service providers all enjoy the same access to your living room, and compete purely on the quality of their offerings.
We’re really concerned about closed architecture in set-top boxes and in telephone-delivery systems. If you design the system and you control access, you really control the keys to the market.
Broadband interactive, or interactive television, will probably focus more on the television set than the PC, and may end up developing out of networked gaming environments, not the old video-on-demand and home-shopping hook other companies seem to be hanging their hopes on.