The more AI products I try, the more I feel like there's a difference between understanding language and understanding communication. Most tools today are surprisingly good at processing what people say they can summarize conversations, extract key points, and answer questions about what was discussed. The problem is that conversations are often about more than the actual words.
I noticed this recently while watching recordings from a few customer interviews. If I only read the transcripts, the feedback looked fairly positive most people sounded interested and their responses seemed reasonable once I watched the recordings, the picture changed. Some people hesitated before answering, some sounded uncertain, and a few looked like they weren't fully convinced even though their words sounded supportive.
That's what made me think there may be a bigger gap here than people realize. Humans naturally notice things like hesitation, uncertainty, engagement, confidence, and skepticism during conversations. Most AI systems still seem heavily focused on the transcript itself as AI gets integrated into tutoring, coaching, customer research, interviews, and sales conversations, that missing layer feels increasingly important.
I'm starting to think one of the next major opportunities in AI won't be generating better responses, but understanding human communication more accurately not by trying to read minds or guess emotions, but by recognizing the signals people already notice in everyday conversations.
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