Exploring mixed-initiative dialogue using computer dialogue simulation

This paper experimentally shows that mixed-initiative dialogue is not alway s more efficient than non-mixed initiative dialogue in route finding tasks. Based on the dialogue model proposed in Conversation Analysis and Discours e Analysis a la the Birmingham school and Whittaker and Stenton's definitio n of initiative, we implement dialogue systems and obtain experimental resu lts by making the systems interact with each other. Across a variety of ins tantiations of the dialogue model, the results show that with easy problems , the efficiency of mixed-initiative dialogue is a little better than or eq ual to that of non-mixed-initiative dialogue, while with difficult problems mixed-initiative dialogue is less efficient than non-mixed-initiative dial ogue.