Think-Aloud Computing, a method for capturing users' verbalized thoughts during software tasks, allows eliciting rich contextual insights into evolving intentions, struggles, and decision-making processes of users in real-time. However, existing approaches face practical challenges: users often lack awareness of what is captured by the system, are not effectively encouraged to speak, and miss or are interrupted by system feedback. Additionally, thinking aloud should feel worthwhile for users due to the gained contextual AI assistance. To better support and harness Think-Aloud Computing, we introduce PointAloud, a suite of novel AI-driven pointer-centric interactions for in-the-moment verbalization encouragement, low-distraction system feedback, and contextually rich work process documentation alongside proactive AI assistance. Our user study with 12 participants provides insights into the value of pointer-centric think-aloud computing for work process documentation and human-AI co-creation. We conclude by discussing the broader implications of our findings and design considerations for pointer-centric and AI-supported Think-Aloud Computing workflows.

翻译：有声思维计算是一种在软件任务执行过程中捕获用户言语化思维的方法，能够实时获取用户不断变化的意图、遇到的困难及决策过程等丰富的上下文洞察。然而，现有方法面临实际挑战：用户通常对系统捕获的内容缺乏认知，未能被有效激励进行言语表达，且容易错过或被系统反馈打断。此外，由于可获得上下文感知的AI辅助，有声思维过程应让用户感到具有实际价值。为更好地支持并利用有声思维计算，我们提出了PointAloud——一套新颖的AI驱动的指针中心化交互套件，旨在实现即时言语化激励、低干扰系统反馈、上下文丰富的工作过程记录以及主动式AI辅助。我们通过一项包含12名参与者的用户研究，深入探讨了指针中心化有声思维计算在工作过程记录及人机协同创作方面的价值。最后，我们讨论了本研究发现的更广泛意义，以及针对指针中心化与AI支持的有声思维计算工作流的设计考量。