Scott's hot topics

Scott Davis: The iPhone is now over a decade old. I vividly remember when it came out thinking, "Wow, this is a game-changer: a full-fidelity web browser in my pocket!" That was before the App Store was even a glimmer in Apple's eye.

That was also the timeframe when Google Maps was first released. I was working on a pre-release version of Google Maps for a satellite imaging company, and I could viscerally feel how AJAX-based websites changed the whole user experience for the better. The iPhone and Google Maps forever changed the way we do web development.

I'm feeling that same way right now about conversational UIs. We're hearing devices actually speak to us in realistic voices, not like the primitive chatbots of the past that used robotic speech synthesis like Stephen Hawking or in the movie WarGames. You can actually use your voice to communicate with the device in your hand in a meaningful way. We're seeing this show up on our smartphones, on our watches, and even on our television remote controls.

I used to laboriously tap out Breaking Bad one letter at a time on an onscreen keyboard using the left/right/up/down arrows on the remote. Now I hold up my remote control and say, "Breaking Bad."

I really feel that conversational UIs have got to the place now where the software, hardware, and bandwidth are all there. It's that perfect storm where it's all come together. This idea of talking to computers is really breaking down barriers once again. There's something very natural about walking in and talking to a computer. I'm really fascinated by that.

Where this really shines is when we start talking about accessibility. I walk into the kitchen in the morning and say, "Hey Alexa, play some Bob Marley." It's a novelty for me, but imagine if I had low vision or full blindness. All of a sudden, it's not a novelty—it's my whole user experience.

In both the U.S. and worldwide, the literacy rate is only about 85%. For 15% of the world, a conversational UI is their whole user experience. If you have dyslexia or another cognitive impairment that makes reading hard, conversational UIs can help. If English is your second language, perhaps it's easier to hear it than read it. Heck, if you're driving or have a baby in your arms, a conversational UI can make your life easier.

We're on the cusp of the "next big thing" with conversational UIs, and I'm having a blast exploring all of the possibilities.

Geertjan Wielenga: How do you stay up to date and in touch with the latest tech developments?

Scott Davis: I read incessantly. I think the biggest sources for me are my Twitter feed and going on websites like Ars Technica, A List Apart, Wired, TechCrunch, and the like.

When you visit those different sites and see the same story told from different perspectives, you really begin to see the trends emerge.

You have to have a love of learning. I get itchy and do everything I can to not get bored from a tech perspective. I'm like a shark that has to keep swimming to stay alive. Much of that motivation has to come from within.

What can make that hard is when the tech that interests you is not what you're working with for your day job. So, in an ideal world, you have to find a tech that you love and then find a job that lets you do what you love. I think that's the perfect model.