Conveying the Extent of Referential Intent

In order to manifest one's intentions in the world, they must be translated into corresponding extentions of actions and objects. In a social system, this process might take the form of directives from a manager to her subordinates. Such directives could remain mostly in the realm of intention, or could be translated into more concrete terms. In human-computer interactions, the human has traditionally borne most of the responsibility for this translation. When more of this responsibility is shifted to the computer, it becomes possible for the computer to participate more fully in the fulfillment of the human's intentions. Furthermore, the power of this intentional stance becomes available to the computer for use throughout its subsequent processing. While discussion of intentions readily brings to mind goals, plans and other actions, every use of a referential term to identify some object is also an intentional act. In this paper, we seek to convey the extent to which such referential intent can be used to promote more effective human-computer interaction.