Proceedings of the 20th ACM International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents

Intelligent virtual agent behaviour is a crucial element of any virtual environment application as it essentially brings the environment to life, introduces believability and realism and enables complex interactions and evolution over time. However, the development of mechanisms for virtual agent perception and action is neither a trivial nor a straight-forward task. In this paper we present a model of perception and action for intelligent virtual agents that meets specific requirements and can as such be systematically implemented, can seamlessly and transparently integrate with knowledge representation and intelligent reasoning mechanisms, is highly independent of virtual world implementation specifics, and enables virtual agent portability and reuse.

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Perceptions on Authenticity in Chat Bots

Multimodal Technologies and Interaction ◽

10.3390/mti2030060 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 60 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Mario Neururer ◽

Stephan Schlögl ◽

Luisa Brinkschulte ◽

Aleksander Groth

Keyword(s):

Intelligent Agents ◽

Social Intelligence ◽

Virtual Agents ◽

Learning From Experience ◽

Alan Turing ◽

Conversational Behavior ◽

Artificial Intelligence Technology ◽

Intelligent Virtual Agents ◽

Open Question ◽

Question Survey

In 1950, Alan Turing proposed his concept of universal machines, emphasizing their abilities to learn, think, and behave in a human-like manner. Today, the existence of intelligent agents imitating human characteristics is more relevant than ever. They have expanded to numerous aspects of daily life. Yet, while they are often seen as work simplifiers, their interactions usually lack social competence. In particular, they miss what one may call authenticity. In the study presented in this paper, we explore how characteristics of social intelligence may enhance future agent implementations. Interviews and an open question survey with experts from different fields have led to a shared understanding of what it would take to make intelligent virtual agents, in particular messaging agents (i.e., chat bots), more authentic. Results suggest that showcasing a transparent purpose, learning from experience, anthropomorphizing, human-like conversational behavior, and coherence, are guiding characteristics for agent authenticity and should consequently allow for and support a better coexistence of artificial intelligence technology with its respective users.

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Towards Learning ‘Self’ and Emotional Knowledge in Social and Cultural Human-Agent Interactions

Developments in Intelligent Agent Technologies and Multi-Agent Systems ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-171-3.ch019 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 305-324

Author(s):

Wan Ching Ho ◽

Kerstin Dautenhahn ◽

Meiyii Lim ◽

Sibylle Enz ◽

Carsten Zoll ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autonomous Agents ◽

Virtual Learning Environment ◽

Virtual Agents ◽

Cultural Backgrounds ◽

Social Agents ◽

Agent Interactions ◽

Human Agent ◽

The World ◽

Intelligent Virtual Agents ◽

Emotional Knowledge

This article presents research towards the development of a virtual learning environment (VLE) inhabited by intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) and modelling a scenario of inter-cultural interactions. The ultimate aim of this VLE is to allow users to reflect upon and learn about intercultural communication and collaboration. Rather than predefining the interactions among the virtual agents and scripting the possible interactions afforded by this environment, we pursue a bottom-up approach whereby inter-cultural communication emerges from interactions with and among autonomous agents and the user(s). The intelligent virtual agents that are inhabiting this environment are expected to be able to broaden their knowledge about the world and other agents, which may be of different cultural backgrounds, through interactions. This work is part of a collaborative effort within a European research project called eCIRCUS. Specifically, this article focuses on our continuing research concerned with emotional knowledge learning in autobiographic social agents.

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Chapter 9 - Theory of Mind and Joint Attention - The Handbook on Socially Interactive Agents

10.31234/osf.io/az8qy ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jairo Pérez-Osorio ◽

Eva Wiese ◽

Agnieszka Wykowska

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Joint Attention ◽

Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

Computational Models ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Virtual Agents ◽

Artificial Agents ◽

Future Directions ◽

Social Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

Intelligent Virtual Agents

The present chapter provides an overview from the perspective of social cognitive neuroscience (SCN) regarding theory of mind (ToM) and joint attention (JA) as crucial mechanisms of social cognition and discusses how these mechanisms have been investigated in social interaction with artificial agents. In the final sections, the chapter reviews computational models of ToM and JA in social robots (SRs) and intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) and discusses the current challenges and future directions.

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Towards Learning ‘Self' and Emotional Knowledge in Social and Cultural Human-Agent Interactions

Social Computing ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-984-7.ch039 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 602-621

Author(s):

Wan Ching Ho ◽

Kerstin Dautenhahn ◽

Meiyii Lim ◽

Sibylle Enz ◽

Carsten Zoll ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autonomous Agents ◽

Virtual Learning Environment ◽

Virtual Agents ◽

Cultural Backgrounds ◽

Social Agents ◽

Agent Interactions ◽

Human Agent ◽

The World ◽

Intelligent Virtual Agents ◽

Emotional Knowledge

This article presents research towards the development of a virtual learning environment (VLE) inhabited by intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) and modelling a scenario of inter-cultural interactions. The ultimate aim of this VLE is to allow users to reflect upon and learn about intercultural communication and collaboration. Rather than predefining the interactions among the virtual agents and scripting the possible interactions afforded by this environment, we pursue a bottom-up approach whereby inter-cultural communication emerges from interactions with and among autonomous agents and the user(s). The intelligent virtual agents that are inhabiting this environment are expected to be able to broaden their knowledge about the world and other agents, which may be of different cultural backgrounds, through interactions. This work is part of a collaborative effort within a European research project called eCIRCUS. Specifically, this article focuses on our continuing research concerned with emotional knowledge learning in autobiographic social agents.

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