Augmenting Agent Platforms to Facilitate Conversation Reasoning

Within Multi Agent Systems, communication by means of Agent Communication Languages (ACLs) has a key role to play in the co-operation, co-ordination and knowledge-sharing between agents. Despite this, complex reasoning about agent messaging, and specifically about conversations between agents, tends not to have widespread support amongst general-purpose agent programming languages. ACRE (Agent Communication Reasoning Engine) aims to complement the existing logical reasoning capabilities of agent programming languages with the capability of reasoning about complex interaction protocols in order to facilitate conversations between agents. This paper outlines the aims of the ACRE project and gives details of the functioning of a prototype implementation within the Agent Factory multi agent framework

Sensemaking on the Pragmatic Web: A Hypermedia Discourse Perspective

The complexity of the dilemmas we face on an organizational, societal and global scale forces us into sensemaking activity. We need tools for expressing and contesting perspectives flexible enough for real time use in meetings, structured enough to help manage longer term memory, and powerful enough to filter the complexity of extended deliberation and debate on an organizational or global scale. This has been the motivation for a programme of basic and applied action research into Hypermedia Discourse, which draws on research in hypertext, information visualization, argumentation, modelling, and meeting facilitation. This paper proposes that this strand of work shares a key principle behind the Pragmatic Web concept, namely, the need to take seriously diverse perspectives and the processes of meaning negotiation. Moreover, it is argued that the hypermedia discourse tools described instantiate this principle in practical tools which permit end-user control over modelling approaches in the absence of consensus

Evaluation of a Conversation Management Toolkit for Multi Agent Programming

The Agent Conversation Reasoning Engine (ACRE) is intended to aid agent developers to improve the management and reliability of agent communication. To evaluate its effectiveness, a problem scenario was created that could be used to compare code written with and without the use of ACRE by groups of test subjects. This paper describes the requirements that the evaluation scenario was intended to meet and how these motivated the design of the problem. Two experiments were conducted with two separate sets of students and their solutions were analysed using a combination of simple objective metrics and subjective analysis. The analysis suggested that ACRE by default prevents some common problems arising that would limit the reliability and extensibility of conversation-handling code. As ACRE has to date been integrated only with the Agent Factory multi agent framework, it was necessary to verify that the problems identified are not unique to that platform. Thus a comparison was made with best practice communication code written for the Jason platform, in order to demonstrate the wider applicability of a system such as ACRE.Comment: appears as Programming Multi-Agent Systems - 10th International Workshop, ProMAS 2012, Valencia, Spain, June 5, 2012, Revised Selected Paper

인공지능과 대화하기: 일대일 그리고 그룹 상용작용을 위한 대화형 에이전트 시스템 개발

학위논문(박사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 사회과학대학 언론정보학과, 2022.2. 이준환."인간-컴퓨터 상호작용"과 "사용자 경험"을 넘어, "인간-인공지능 상호작용" 그리고 "알고리즘 경험"의 시대가 도래하고 있다. 기술의 발전은 우리가 의사소통하고 협업하는 방식의 패러다임을 전환했다. 기계 에이전트는 인간 커뮤니케이션에서 적극적이며 주도적인 역할을 수행한다. 하지만 효과적인 AI 기반 커뮤니케이션과 토론 시스템 디자인에 대한 이해와 논의는 부족한 것이 사실이다. 이에 본 연구는 인간-컴퓨터 상호작용의 관점에서 다양한 형태의 커뮤니케이션을 지원할 수 있는 기술적 방법을 탐색하는 것을 목표로 한다. 이를 위해 저자는 일대일 그리고 그룹 상호작용을 지원하는 대화형 에이전트를 제시한다. 구체적으로 본 연구는 1) 일대일 상호작요에서 사용자 관여를 높이는 대화형 에이전트, 2) 일상적인 소셜 그룹 토론을 지원하는 에이전트, 3) 숙의 토론을 가능하게 하는 에이전트를 디자인 및 개발하고 그 효과를 정량적 그리고 정성적으로 검증했다. 시스템을 디자인함에 있어서 인간-컴퓨터 상호작용뿐 아니라, 커뮤니케이션학, 심리학, 그리고 데이터 과학을 접목한 다학제적 접근 방식이 적용되었다. 첫 번째 연구는 일대일 상호작용 상황에서 사용자의 관여 증진을 위한 대화형 에이전트의 효과를 검증했다. 설문조사라는 맥락에서 수행된 이 연구는 웹 설문조사에서 응답자의 불성실로 인해 발생하는 응답 데이터 품질의 문제를 극복하기 위한 새로운 인터랙션 방법으로 텍스트 기반 대화형 에이전트의 가능성을 탐색하는 것을 목표로 했다. 이를 위해 2 (인터페이스: 웹 對 챗봇) X 2 (대화 스타일: 포멀 對 캐쥬얼) 실험을 진행했으며, 만족화 이론에 근거하여 응답 데이터의 품질을 평가했다. 그 결과, 챗봇 설문조사의 참여자가 웹 설문조사의 참여자보다 더 높은 수준의 관여를 보이고, 결과적으로 더 높은 품질의 데이터를 생성하는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 하지만 이런 챗봇의 데이터 품질에 대한 효과는 챗봇이 친구 같고 캐쥬얼한 대화체를 사용할 때만 나타났다. 이 결과는 대화형 인터랙티비티가 인터페이스뿐 아니라 대화 스타일이라는 효과적인 메세지 전략을 동반할 때 발생하는 것을 의미한다. 두 번째 연구는 일상적인 소셜 채팅 그룹에서 집단의 의사결정과정과 토론을 지원하는 대화형 시스템에 대한 것이다. 이를 위해 GroupfeedBot이라는 대화형 에이전트를 제작하였으며, GroupfeedBot은 (1) 토론 시간을 관리하고, (2) 구성원들의 균등한 참여를 촉진하며, (3) 구성원들의 다양한 의견을 요약 및 조직화하는 기능을 갖고 있다. 해당 에이전트를 평가하기 위해 다양한 태스크 (추론, 의사결정, 자유 토론, 문제 해결 과제)와 그룹 규모(소규모, 중규모)에 관하여 사용자 조사를 시행했다. 그 결과 의견의 다양성 측면에서 GroupfeedBot으로 토론한 집단이 기본 에이전트와 토론한 집단보다 더 다양한 의견을 생성했지만 산출된 결과의 품질과 메시지 양에 있어서는 차이가 없는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 균등한 참여에 대한 GroupfeedBot의 효과는 태스크의 특성에 따라 다르게 나타났는데, 특히 자유 토론 과제에서 GroupfeedBot이 참여자들의 균등한 참여를 촉진했다. 세 번째 연구는 숙의 토론을 지원하는 대화형 시스템에 대한 것이다. 세 번째 연구에서 개발된 DebateBot은 GroupfeeedBot과 달리 더 진지한 사회적 맥락에서 적용되었다. DebateBot은 (1) 생각하기-짝짓기-공유하기 (Think-Pair-Share) 전략에 따라 토론을 구조화하고, (2) 과묵한 토론자에게 의견을 요청함으로써 동등한 참여를 촉진하는 두 가지 주요 기능을 수행했다. 사용자 평가 결과 DebateBot은 그룹 상호작용을 개선함으로써 심의 토론을 가능하게 했다. 토론 구조화는 토론의 질에 긍정적인 효과를 발휘하였고, 참여자 촉진은 진정한 합의 도달에 기여하였으며, 그룹 구성원들의 주관적 만족도를 향상했다. 본 연구는 이 세 가지 연구의 결과들을 바탕으로 인간-인공지능 커뮤니케이션에 대한 다양한 시사점들을 도출하였으며, 이를 TAMED (Task-Agent-Message-Information Exchange-Relationship Dynamics) 모델로 정리하였다.The advancements in technology shift the paradigm of how individuals communicate and collaborate. Machines play an active role in human communication. However, we still lack a generalized understanding of how exactly to design effective machine-driven communication and discussion systems. How should machine agents be designed differently when interacting with a single user as opposed to when interacting with multiple users? How can machine agents be designed to drive user engagement during dyadic interaction? What roles can machine agents perform for the sake of group interaction contexts? How should technology be implemented in support of the group decision-making process and to promote group dynamics? What are the design and technical issues which should be considered for the sake of creating human-centered interactive systems? In this thesis, I present new interactive systems in the form of a conversational agent, or a chatbot, that facilitate dyadic and group interactions. Specifically, I focus on: 1) a conversational agent to engage users in dyadic communication, 2) a chatbot called GroupfeedBot that facilitates daily social group discussion, 3) a chatbot called DebateBot that enables deliberative discussion. My approach to research is multidisciplinary and informed by not only in HCI, but also communication, psychology and data science. In my work, I conduct in-depth qualitative inquiry and quantitative data analysis towards understanding issues that users have with current systems, before developing new computational techniques that meet those user needs. Finally, I design, build, and deploy systems that use these techniques to the public in order to achieve real-world impact and to study their use by different usage contexts. The findings of this thesis are as follows. For a dyadic interaction, participants interacting with a chatbot system were more engaged as compared to those with a static web system. However, the conversational agent leads to better user engagement only when the messages apply a friendly, human-like conversational style. These results imply that the chatbot interface itself is not quite sufficient for the purpose of conveying conversational interactivity. Messages should also be carefully designed to convey such. Unlike dyadic interactions, which focus on message characteristics, other elements of the interaction should be considered when designing agents for group communication. In terms of messages, it is important to synthesize and organize information given that countless messages are exchanged simultaneously. In terms of relationship dynamics, rather than developing a rapport with a single user, it is essential to understand and facilitate the dynamics of the group as a whole. In terms of task performance, technology should support the group's decision-making process by efficiently managing the task execution process. Considering the above characteristics of group interactions, I created the chatbot agents that facilitate group communication in two different contexts and verified their effectiveness. GroupfeedBot was designed and developed with the aim of enhancing group discussion in social chat groups. GroupfeedBot possesses the feature of (1) managing time, (2) encouraging members to participate evenly, and (3) organizing the members’ diverse opinions. The group which discussed with GroupfeedBot tended to produce more diverse opinions compared to the group discussed with the basic chatbot. Some effects of GroupfeedBot varied by the task's characteristics. GroupfeedBot encouraged the members to contribute evenly to the discussions, especially for the open-debating task. On the other hand, DebateBot was designed and developed to facilitate deliberative discussion. In contrast to GroupfeedBot, DebateBot was applied to more serious and less casual social contexts. Two main features were implemented in DebateBot: (1) structure discussion and (2) request opinions from reticent discussants.This work found that a chatbot agent which structures discussions and promotes even participation can improve discussions, resulting in higher quality deliberative discussion. Overall, adding structure to the discussion positively influenced the discussion quality, and the facilitation helped groups reach a genuine consensus and improved the subjective satisfaction of the group members. The findings of this thesis reflect the importance of understanding human factors in designing AI-infused systems. By understanding the characteristics of individual humans and collective groups, we are able to place humans at the heart of the system and utilize AI technology in a human-friendly way.1. Introduction 1.1 Background 1.2 Rise of Machine Agency 1.3 Theoretical Framework 1.4 Research Goal 1.5 Research Approach 1.6 Summary of Contributions 1.7 Thesis Overview 2. Related Work 2.1 A Brief History of Conversational Agents 2.2 TAMED Framework 3. Designing Conversational Agents for Dyadic Interaction 3.1 Background 3.2 Related Work 3.3 Method 3.4 Results 3.5 Discussion 3.6 Conclusion 4. Designing Conversational Agents for Social Group Discussion 4.1 Background 4.2 Related Work 4.3 Needfinding Survey for Facilitator Chatbot Agent 4.4 GroupfeedBot: A Chatbot Agent For Facilitating Discussion in Group Chats 4.5 Qualitative Study with Small-Sized Group 4.6 User Study With Medium-Sized Group 4.7 Discussion 4.8 Conclusion 5. Designing Conversational Agents for Deliberative Group Discussion 5.1 Background 5.2 Related Work 5.3 DebateBot 5.4 Method 5.5 Results 5.6 Discussion and Design Implications 5.7 Conclusion 6. Discussion 6.1 Designing Conversational Agents as a Communicator 6.2 Design Guidelines Based on TAMED Model 6.3 Technical Considerations 6.4 Human-AI Collaborative System 7. Conclusion 7.1 Research Summary 7.2 Summary of Contributions 7.3 Future Work 7.4 Conclusion박

BlahBlahBot: Facilitating Conversation between Strangers using a Chatbot with ML-infused Personalized Topic Suggestion

It is a prevalent behavior of having a chat with strangers in online settings where people can easily gather. Yet, people often find it difficult to initiate and maintain conversation due to the lack of information about strangers. Hence, we aimed to facilitate conversation between the strangers with the use of machine learning (ML) algorithms and present BlahBlahBot, an ML-infused chatbot that moderates conversation between strangers with personalized topics. Based on social media posts, BlahBlahBot supports the conversation by suggesting topics that are likely to be of mutual interest between users. A user study with three groups (control, random topic chatbot, and BlahBlahBot; N=18) found the feasibility of BlahBlahBot in increasing both conversation quality and closeness to the partner, along with the factors that led to such increases from the user interview. Overall, our preliminary results imply that an ML-infused conversational agent can be effective for augmenting a dyadic conversation

Augmenting Education: Ethical Considerations for Incorporating Artificial Intelligence in Education

Artificial intelligence (AI) has existed in theory and practice for decades, but applications have been relatively limited in most domains. Recent developments in AI and computing have placed AI-enhanced applications in various industries and a growing number of consumer products. AI platforms and services aimed at enhancing educational outcomes and taking over administrative tasks are becoming more prevalent and appearing in more and more classrooms and offices. Conversations about the disruption and ethical concerns created by AI are occurring in many fields. The development of the technology threatens to outpace academic discussion of its utility and pitfalls in education, however. Conversations about the disruption and ethical concerns created by AI are occurring in many fields. To ensure that AI in education serves learners and educators and that ethical concerns are answered or mitigated, the field must first clarify what those concerns are. This paper surveys academic and trade literature and draws upon a parallel questionnaire deployed to define existing and emerging ethical concerns of AI in education

Rethinking affordance

n/a – Critical survey essay retheorising the concept of 'affordance' in digital media context. Lead article in a special issue on the topic, co-edited by the authors for the journal Media Theory

Developing human/AI interactions for chat-based customer services: lessons learned from the Norwegian government

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Proceedings ICPW'07: 2nd International Conference on the Pragmatic Web, 22-23 Oct. 2007, Tilburg: NL

Proceedings ICPW'07: 2nd International Conference on the Pragmatic Web, 22-23 Oct. 2007, Tilburg: N