Conversational Agents, Humorous Act Construction, and Social Intelligence

Humans use humour to ease communication problems in human-human interaction and \ud in a similar way humour can be used to solve communication problems that arise\ud with human-computer interaction. We discuss the role of embodied conversational\ud agents in human-computer interaction and we have observations on the generation\ud of humorous acts and on the appropriateness of displaying them by embodied\ud conversational agents in order to smoothen, when necessary, their interactions\ud with a human partner. The humorous acts we consider are generated spontaneously.\ud They are the product of an appraisal of the conversational situation and the\ud possibility to generate a humorous act from the elements that make up this\ud conversational situation, in particular the interaction history of the\ud conversational partners

A Review of Verbal and Non-Verbal Human-Robot Interactive Communication

In this paper, an overview of human-robot interactive communication is presented, covering verbal as well as non-verbal aspects of human-robot interaction. Following a historical introduction, and motivation towards fluid human-robot communication, ten desiderata are proposed, which provide an organizational axis both of recent as well as of future research on human-robot communication. Then, the ten desiderata are examined in detail, culminating to a unifying discussion, and a forward-looking conclusion

Towards responsive Sensitive Artificial Listeners

This paper describes work in the recently started project SEMAINE, which aims to build a set of Sensitive Artificial Listeners – conversational agents designed to sustain an interaction with a human user despite limited verbal skills, through robust recognition and generation of non-verbal behaviour in real-time, both when the agent is speaking and listening. We report on data collection and on the design of a system architecture in view of real-time responsiveness

The relation between language and theory of mind in development and evolution

Considering the close relation between language and theory of mind in development and their tight connection in social behavior, it is no big leap to claim that the two capacities have been related in evolution as well. But what is the exact relation between them? This paper attempts to clear a path toward an answer. I consider several possible relations between the two faculties, bring conceptual arguments and empirical evidence to bear on them, and end up arguing for a version of co-evolution. To model this co-evolution, we must distinguish between different stages or levels of language and theory of mind, which fueled each other’s evolution in a protracted escalation process

Fostering reflection in the training of speech-receptive action

Dieser Aufsatz erörtert Möglichkeiten und Probleme der Förderung kommunikativer Fertigkeiten durch die Unterstützung der Reflexion eigenen sprachrezeptiven Handelns und des Einsatzes von computerunterstützten Lernumgebungen für dessen Förderung. Kommunikationstrainings widmen sich meistens der Förderung des beobachtbaren sprachproduktiven Handelns (Sprechen). Die individuellen kognitiven Prozesse, die dem sprachrezeptiven Handeln (Hören und Verstehen) zugrunde liegen, werden häufig vernachlässigt. Dies wird dadurch begründet, dass sprachrezeptives Handeln in einer kommunikativen Situation nur schwer zugänglich und die Förderung der individuellen Prozesse sprachrezeptiven Handelns sehr zeitaufwändig ist. Das zentrale Lernprinzip - die Reflexion des eigenen sprachlich-kommunikativen Handelns - wird aus verschiedenen Perspektiven diskutiert. Vor dem Hintergrund der Reflexionsmodelle wird die computerunterstützte Lernumgebung CaiMan© vorgestellt und beschrieben. Daran anschließend werden sieben Erfolgsfaktoren aus der empirischen Forschung zur Lernumgebung CaiMan© abgeleitet. Der Artikel endet mit der Vorstellung von zwei empirischen Studien, die Möglichkeiten der Reflexionsunterstützung untersucheThis article discusses the training of communicative skills by fostering the reflection of speech-receptive action and the opportunities for using software for this purpose. Most frameworks for the training of communicative behavior focus on fostering the observable speech-productive action (i.e. speaking); the individual cognitive processes underlying speech-receptive action (hearing and understanding utterances) are often neglected. Computer-supported learning environments employed as cognitive tools can help to foster speech-receptive action. Seven success factors for the integration of software into the training of soft skills have been derived from empirical research. The computer-supported learning environment CaiMan© based on these ideas is presented. One central learning principle in this learning environment reflection of one's own action will be discussed from different perspectives. The article concludes with two empirical studies examining opportunities to foster reflecti

VICA, a visual counseling agent for emotional distress

We present VICA, a Visual Counseling Agent designed to create an engaging multimedia face-to-face interaction. VICA is a human-friendly agent equipped with high-performance voice conversation designed to help psychologically stressed users, to offload their emotional burden. Such users specifically include non-computer-savvy elderly persons or clients. Our agent builds replies exploiting interlocutor\u2019s utterances expressing such as wishes, obstacles, emotions, etc. Statements asking for confirmation, details, emotional summary, or relations among such expressions are added to the utterances. We claim that VICA is suitable for positive counseling scenarios where multimedia specifically high-performance voice communication is instrumental for even the old or digital divided users to continue dialogue towards their self-awareness. To prove this claim, VICA\u2019s effect is evaluated with respect to a previous text-based counseling agent CRECA and ELIZA including its successors. An experiment involving 14 subjects shows VICA effects as follows: (i) the dialogue continuation (CPS: Conversation-turns Per Session) of VICA for the older half (age > 40) substantially improved 53% to CRECA and 71% to ELIZA. (ii) VICA\u2019s capability to foster peace of mind and other positive feelings was assessed with a very high score of 5 or 6 mostly, out of 7 stages of the Likert scale, again by the older. Compared on average, such capability of VICA for the older is 5.14 while CRECA (all subjects are young students, age < 25) is 4.50, ELIZA is 3.50, and the best of ELIZA\u2019s successors for the older (> 25) is 4.41