"Dialogue" and "technology" — what is the connection between these two concepts? We have observed that these two terms often occur together in discussions of what we call "artificial intelligence", "knowledge-based systems", etc. These two terms are sometimes used together in a superficial and careless way in, say, product advertisements or user documentation, and sometimes their juxtaposition has been more inspired inasmuch as it presents to us an attractive challenge to see in the new technology more than a mere collection of effective instruments; to see it as a means for people's linguistic and cognitive interaction.