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Embodied Agents and Social Computing

This overview discusses the intellectual framework, embodied conversational agents, etiquette, and relational agents in the field of embodied and affective computing. It explores how human face-to-face conversation can inspire and serve as a model for computational models. The relevance of disciplines such as linguistics, sociology, and social psychology is also discussed, along with research methodologies that involve studying human interaction, building computational models, and evaluating them.

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Embodied Agents and Social Computing

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  1. Embodied Agents andSocial Computing Tim Bickmore Affective Computing Group MIT Media Laboratory

  2. Overview • Intellectual Framework • Embodied Conversational Agents • Etiquette • Relational Agents

  3. Intellectual Framework • Study human face-to-face conversation • Not just as inspiration, but as model • The best (only?) examples we have to draw from. • Human social cognition is built to work this way. • Relevant Disciplines • Linguistics/Discourse/Sociolinguistics • Sociology/Ethnomethodology • Social Psychology • Discourse-inspired models of collaboration

  4. Research Methodology • Study human-human interaction • Build computational models • Evaluate models

  5. Monologues (0.06/s) Dialogues (0.07/s) ps/s ps/int energy ps/s ps/int energy Inter-dseg 0.340 0.837 0.832 0.332 0.533 0.844 intra-dseg 0.039 0.701 0.053 0.723 Empirical Studies:Posture Shifts Posture shifts with respect to discourse segment

  6. Empirical Studies:Handheld ECAs

  7. SAM REA BEAT MACK LEARNING COMPANION Embodied Conversational Agents

  8. What does this have to do with Etiquette? • Etiquette is about upholding a tacit “social contract” in interaction • Following the rules governing face-to-face interaction is an important part of this contract • Gricean cooperativeness • Goffman’s “face” • Turn-taking, etc. • But, these are relatively static with respect to roles and relationships.

  9. Etiquette • How do people negotiate changing roles? • How do people negotiate changing relationships? • How can our computers do these things?

  10. Relational Agents • Computational artifacts designed to build and maintain long-term, social-emotional relationships with their users.

  11. Motivating Example

  12. Motivation • How do people benefit from social relationships? • Direct benefits • Instrumental, emotional, social support • Indirect benefits • Persuasion (e.g., sales) • Education (e.g., peer collaboration) • Health & Well-being • Helping (e.g., psychotherapy, behavior change)

  13. TRUST 7.5 INTRO 7.0 6.5 6.0 EXTRO 5.5 5.0 SOCIAL TASK Small Talk and Trust • Real Estate Sales Agent ECA • Modeled initial buyer/agent interview • Hypothesis: • Small talk leads to increased trust in agent

  14. Working Alliance andBehavior Change • Working alliance • A type of relationship • Measurable • Known mediating variable between relational activities and outcomes across a wide range of psychotherapeutic disciplines • Subscales: • Bond, Task, Goal

  15. Application • Exercise Behavior Change • Relatively simple, brief duration • Several proven techniques exist that could be delivered by a software agent • Relevant to college subject population • Objectively measurable, real application • New guidelines are for daily exercise; gives subjects opportunity for daily interactions

  16. Exercise Advisor

  17. Relational Manipulations • “Kitchen Sink” approach • Small talk • Empathy exchanges (following Klein) • Talk about the relationship • Humor • Politeness & Forms of Address • Reciprocal self-disclosure • Continuity behaviors • Talking about past and future (requires memory) • Nonverbal immediacy behaviors

  18. RELATIONAL NON-RELATIONAL +Gestures +Facial animation +Proximity ALL FRAMES +Gaze aways CONCERN empathy Concern face +Proximity small talk, greeting, farewell, humor, positive feedback HAPPY Smile face Smile face +Proximity ENCOURAGE encouragement Nonverbal Behavior • Pre-compiled through BEAT

  19. Wear pedometer • Daily report of activity • Daily interactions with agent • No contact with Ss Intake Intervention FollowUp 7dRecall 7dRecall • WAI • Demographics • Personality • Stage of Change • Self-Efficacy • Decisional Balance • System and agent • evaluation • Self-Efficacy • Decisional Balance Experiment • Treatments: CONTROL / NON-RELATIONAL / RELATIONAL • One-month intervention; one-month followup • 100 Subjects 30 days 30 days

  20. More Info http://www.media.mit.edu/~bickmore

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