Understanding Question-Answering Chatbots for Online News

Temel Kavramlar

Large Language Models have opened opportunities for designing chatbots to enhance news engagement, but understanding user perspectives is crucial.

Özet

This content explores the design of question-answering chatbots for online news. It includes interviews with journalists and an online experiment with readers to understand their interactions with chatbots. The study reveals differences in how users engage with authors and chatbots, highlighting the importance of aligning chatbot functionalities with user expectations.

Introduction

Journalists face challenges in engaging with readers.
Chatbots offer a potential solution for improving communication.

Study with Journalists

Journalists communicate mainly through email and social media.
Challenges include maintaining discussions at scale.

Study with Audience/Readers

Readers ask more factual questions to chatbots than authors.
Questions to authors are more complex and emotionally charged.

Taxonomy of Questions

Categories include Information, Interpretation, and Others.

Authors vs Chatbot

Participants ask more detailed questions to authors than chatbots.
Authors receive more critical questions about journalistic integrity.

Effect of Perceived Quality and Personal Preferences

High-quality articles lead to more detailed questions to authors.
Low-quality articles prompt questioning of journalistic integrity.

Framework for Designing Chatbots

Considerations include functionalities desired by authors and readers, newsroom preferences, current technology capabilities, AI/technology policies, and regulatory policies.

İstatistikler

Large Language Models (LLMs) have created opportunities for designing chatbots that can support complex question-answering (QA) scenarios.
An online experiment was conducted with 124 participants to understand how readers want to interact with a QA chatbot.

Alıntılar

"A paradigm shift away from a ‘lecturing’ approach to a ‘dialogue’ approach is a key factor for journalism in a post-truth era." - Meier et al.

Önemli Bilgiler Şuradan Elde Edildi

Towards Designing a Question-Answering Chatbot for Online News

by Md Naimul Ho... : arxiv.org 03-26-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2312.10650.pdf

Daha Derin Sorular

What functionalities do authors desire in a chatbot?

Authors desire chatbots that can assist them in answering factual and redundant questions from readers, thereby reducing their workload. They also want chatbots to direct more subjective or interpretative questions towards them for a deeper conversation. Additionally, authors value the ability of chatbots to facilitate communication with readers and act as mediators between themselves and the audience.

How can the framework be adapted for different news outlets?

The framework for designing QA chatbots can be adapted for different news outlets by customizing it based on each outlet's specific needs, audience preferences, and editorial guidelines. This customization may involve tailoring the functionalities of the chatbot to align with the content focus of the outlet (e.g., politics, health, environment), incorporating branding elements unique to each outlet, and integrating features that cater to the target audience's engagement preferences.

What ethical considerations should be taken into account when designing QA chatbots?

When designing QA chatbots for online news, several ethical considerations must be taken into account:

Accuracy and Truthfulness: Ensuring that the information provided by the chatbot is accurate and truthful to maintain journalistic integrity.
Transparency: Clearly disclosing when users are interacting with a bot rather than a human journalist.
Privacy: Safeguarding user data collected during interactions with the chatbot.
Bias Mitigation: Addressing biases in AI models used by the chatbot to prevent perpetuating misinformation or discrimination.
User Consent: Obtaining explicit consent from users before storing or using their data for improving bot performance.
Accountability: Establishing mechanisms for oversight and accountability in case of errors or misuse of information by the bot.

These ethical considerations are crucial in ensuring responsible use of AI technology in journalism and maintaining trust between news organizations, journalists, and their audiences.