How do you moderate a panel discussion with an AI avatar?

01Calling on him

A name on its own is not a question

On a panel, the moderator often puts a question to the round first and only then says who should answer it. With human guests, that costs nothing. With the AI avatar, it costs seconds, because after a bare name he waits to see whether anything else is coming.

We measured how many. The question came first and the name only afterward, on its own. It took a little over four seconds until the AI avatar’s first sound, two of them spent waiting for the rest of the sentence. When the name was part of the question, the avatar could be heard after a little over two seconds in the same run, whether the name came at the start or at the end. These are single values from one test. The gap of about two seconds is the waiting time.

So write the name into the question line on your cue card, for example “Albert, was spricht dagegen?” (Albert, what speaks against it?). He doesn’t reliably pick up a question that was asked before his name.

02Length

The question decides how long he talks

Next to every question for him, your cue card needs a cue word. “Kurz” (briefly) or “in einem Satz” (in one sentence) gets one sentence. Where you want him to go into detail, add “erklär uns” (explain to us), and you get a full explanation of a good half minute. Without a cue word, he answers in three to four sentences, a little more for long questions.

“Schlusswort” (closing statement) also counts as a cue for a short answer. In the same test, the AI avatar was asked for a closing statement. The answer was a single sentence, in under two seconds, faster than on any other call in that run.

So you set his speaking time with the question, which you might wish you could do with some human guests. In the schedule, count him as a guest who keeps it short.

03Pause

Don’t fill the pause after the call

About two seconds go by between your call and his first sound.

Adding something in that time, like “oder anders gefragt …” (or, to put it another way …), only makes it longer. As long as the moderator is talking, he waits for the question to finish. Look toward the screen instead, as you would at a guest you have just handed the floor to. The first thing the room hears from him is a short German “Also.” (well) or “Hm.”, and from there his answer is underway.

04Questions

When things get tight on stage

• What happens if a guest cuts him off?

  That’s your call. If the guest should take over right away, tap STOP on the tablet. Otherwise give the guest the floor by name once he has finished; he does not take up the interjection itself. If you call his name into the running answer, he pauses briefly once per answer, says a short line such as “Moment — den Gedanken führe ich noch kurz zu Ende” (one moment, let me finish this thought) and carries on. It is not yet something to plan around, because so far it has only been measured in the lab.

• Do I have to operate any technology while moderating?

  Only the tablet, and only if you want to stop him or give him a question. One of us sits next to your sound engineer and looks after the laptop.

05Preparation

You ask a guest for their position; you give the AI avatar one

A panel discussion needs a guiding question with more than one defensible answer. “Should Switzerland move to a four-day week?” can fill an hour. “How will we work in the future?” runs dry quickly, because nobody has to disagree.

In the prep call, you find out where a guest stands on that question. With the AI avatar, it works the other way around. You set his position yourself, in the briefing, along with the topic and the participants. Albert is built as a provocateur; whether he argues for or against the four-day week at your event is up to the briefing.

If you usually moderate in Swiss German or English, switch to standard German for this event. It is the only language he understands and speaks for now.

06Running order

A suggestion for 60 minutes

Planned for three or four guests and one AI avatar.

1. 01

   Opening, 5 minutes

   Introduce him along with the guests, and say explicitly that he is an AI avatar.

2. 02

   First round, 15 minutes

   Call on him only once there are statements he can refer to. Then he can address guests by name and disagree with them.

3. 03

   Discussion, 20 minutes

   If the guests agree quickly, get the opposing view from him. A follow-up right after his answer doesn’t need his name. Calling on a guest by name hands the floor over, and he goes quiet again.

4. 04

   Questions from the audience, 15 minutes

   By default, he only hears what comes through the stage microphones. So repeat an audience question meant for him, with his name, or type it on the tablet.

5. 05

   Closing round, 5 minutes

   One sentence per guest. For him, the word “Schlusswort” (closing statement) in the call is enough.

Start with the cue card. Mark the points in this running order where you will call on him, and write one line for each: name, question and a cue word for length. At the dress rehearsal, read these lines out loud until name and question come out in one go.