"Since humans invented computers, they had to communicate with them in a way that was understandable to machines, as the machines struggled (and still struggle) to understand our natural way of communication. The progress in machine learning and artificial intelligence makes it possible to do it the other way around -- machines are getting better at "understanding" humans; not only their speech, but also their gestures, mimics and biology.
One factor in defining how much we enjoy an interaction is empathy: when our counterpart recognizes when we are frustrated, slows down when we’re confused, speeds up when we’re impatient, etc. For a more humane experience empathy is necessary, and that’s something machines are not good at yet. That’s why interaction with software, even an intelligent one, is still pretty unsatisfying (unlike in the movie "Her"). To even approach human capability, intelligent assistants must recognize and adapt to the user’s state, whether that involves awareness, emotion, or comprehension."