The Intersection of Conversational AI and Human-Centered Design: A Practical Guide

Abstract:

Conversational AI is revolutionizing human-computer interactions, enabling more natural and intuitive engagements across industries such as customer service, healthcare, and education. However, ensuring that these AI-driven conversations align with human needs, ethical considerations, and usability principles is a growing challenge. This tutorial introduces participants to key concepts in Conversational AI and Human-Centered AI, focusing on designing intelligent systems that prioritize user experience, inclusivity, and fairness.Participants will explore key methodologies in conversational AI, such as dialogue management, intent recognition, and natural language understanding. The tutorial will also address Human-Centered AI principles, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and ethical decision-making in AI interactions. Discussions will include best practices, real-world case studies, and challenges in deploying AI-driven communication systems.Participants will engage in hands-on exercises using industry-standard tools to prototype and evaluate conversational AI systems. The session will also address ethical concerns, bias mitigation, and responsible AI practices. By the end of the tutorial, attendees will acquire practical skills to develop user-friendly, ethical, and effective conversational AI solutions.

Join the tutorial:

Join us for an immersive tutorial, "The Intersection of Conversational AI and Human-Centered Design: A Practical Guide", hosted at the 4th International Conference Series on Hybrid Human-Artificial Intelligence from 9th - 13th June 2025. This hands-on session will explore key concepts like ethical AI, bias mitigation, and designing intuitive, user-friendly conversational systems. Through interactive exercises and real-world examples, you’ll learn how to create AI solutions that truly prioritize human needs.

The 4th International Conference on Hybrid Human-Artificial Intelligence 📅 June 10, 2025, 14:00 - 18:00, Pisa, Italy

Topics to be covered:

Introduction to Conersational AI and Human-Centerd AI:
- Overview and Evolution of Conversational Interfaces
- Rule-based to LLM-based agents
- Challenges in Conversational AI
Principles of Effective Conversational Design
- Conversational Maxims and Principles
- Turn-taking, grounding and repair strategies
- Designing enaging and natural sounding AI conversations
Conversational AI and Human-Centered AI
- Intersection of Conversational AI and Human-Centered AI
- AI aligning with human values and social norms
- Ethical considerations, transparency, trust and explainability in AI-interactions
Prototyping Conversational AI
- Hands-on activity using conversational design tools
- Participants working in small groups to design and test prototypes
- Error correction strategies
Evaluating and Improving Conversational Interactions
- Methods for assessing conversational quality
- User testing approaches - Wizard-of-Oz, A/B testing and feedback collection
- Debugging common conversational issues

Who should attend:

Perfect for designers, developers, product managers, and AI enthusiasts, this tutorial is ideal for anyone looking to build smarter, more empathetic conversational AI experiences. Don’t miss this chance to bridge the gap between technology and humanity—register now!

About the organizers:

Markku Turunen is a Professor of Interactive Technology at Tampere University (TAU), Finland. Currently, he is heading the Sustainable Societies and Digitalization M.Sc. program and the Pervasive Interaction (PIRG) research group at TAU. His research and teaching interests include many aspects of multimodal interfaces, including multimodal and spoken dialogue systems, novel user interfaces for mobile and pervasive computing applications, embodied and spatial interaction (e.g. gestures), user
experience evaluation, interactive lighting, ICT4D, and virtual reality.

Biju Thankachan is a Doctoral Researcher at Tampere Unit for Computer-Human Interaction (TAUCHI) at Tampere University, Finland. His research focuses on designing Conversational Interfaces specifically tailored for use in the context of semi-public usage. He is working on his dissertation on Conversational and Voice User Interfaces from the perspective of accessibility. His other interests include Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing and Social Conversational Robots.

Sama Rahman is a Doctoral Researcher at Tampere University in the Tampere University Computer-Human Interaction Research Center (TAUCHI) in Finland. She is passionate about the intersection of technology and cognitive science and eager to explore the potential of technologies to enhance cognition and improve mental health. Currently, her research focuses on exploring virtual reality (VR) for mental health assessments for first responders.

Maria Hartikainen is a PhD researcher at Tampere University in Human Technology Interaction -research group. Her PhD focuses on the design of human-centered AI. Her PhD aim is to understand human centricity related to the interaction between humans and AI, and appropriate design for AI systems and interactions. Her PhD objective is also to support AI developers to design AI solutions that are human-centric.

Call for Participation in the tutorial