AI, Language, and the Human Touch: Navigating Speech, Translation, and Human-Computer Interaction in the Age of Machines

As artificial intelligence increasingly mediates human communication, how well do machines truly understand language? Speech recognition systems, virtual assistants, and AI-driven text generators are becoming more sophisticated, yet they continue to struggle with accents, emotions, humor, and contextual nuances — aspects that are central to natural human interaction. 

This lecture explores the intersection of AI, human-computer interaction (HCI), and linguistics, drawing on Chomsky’s theories of language and real-world examples of AI-driven errors in speech and text processing. We will examine how AI models process and generate language, the challenges they face in achieving true linguistic understanding, and why human expertise remains essential in ensuring the accuracy, coherence, and ethical use of AI-generated communication. 

By looking at both philosophical perspectives on AI and language, as well as practical applications, we will discuss how professionals working with language—whether in linguistics, translation, or AI development—can collaborate with AI rather than be replaced by it. 

Dr. Andreea I. Niculescu is a research scientist specializing in human-computer interaction, speech & natural language processing, and multimodal interaction design. She has led AI-driven UX projects in academia and industry, focusing on conversational interfaces, emotion-responsive chatbots, and autonomous vehicle UX. As a researcher at A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) in Singapore, she worked on AI-driven speech & language projects and multimodal interfaces. Beyond research, she has consulted on NLP, UX, and usability for legal analytics, robotics, and smart systems. Committed to human-centered AI design, she has received best paper awards and industry honors. She reviews for top conferences (CHI, HRI, RO-MAN, HAI) and co-organizes workshops on human-AI interaction. She has also supervised student projects, some awarded at the Singapore Science and Engineering Fair (SSEF). She holds degrees in Computer Science, Linguistics, and Communications from Ruhr-University Bochum and University of Bucharest, and a PhD from the University of Twente, where she researched conversational interface design for task-oriented dialogues.