Foundations of Human-Aware Planning -- A Tale of Three Models

abstract: A critical challenge in the design of AI systems that operate with humans in the loop is to be able to model the intentions and capabilities of the humans, as well as their beliefs and expectations of the AI system itself. This allows the AI system to be "human- aware" -- i.e. the human task model enables it to envisage desired roles of the human in joint action, while the human mental model allows it to anticipate how its own actions are perceived from the point of view of the human. In my research, I explore how these concepts of human-awareness manifest themselves in the scope of planning or sequential decision making with humans in the loop. To this end, I will show (1) how the AI agent can leverage the human task model to generate symbiotic behavior; and (2) how the introduction of the human mental model in the deliberative process of the AI agent allows it to generate explanations for a plan or resort to explicable plans when explanations are not desired. The latter is in addition to traditional notions of human-aware planning which typically use the human task model alone and thus enables a new suite of capabilities of a human-aware AI agent. Finally, I will explore how the AI agent can leverage emerging mixed-reality interfaces to realize effective channels of communication with the human in the loop.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Computer Science 201

A computational model of mutual trust between the user and his agent acting on his behalf

Le sujet de ce mémoire s'inscrit dans le cadre de la mesure de la confiance d'un agent logiciel. Les systèmes multi-agents actuels ne prennent pas en considération les problèmes de cohabitation entre un utilisateur et son agent virtuel agissant en son nom, telles que la confiance mutuelle et la délégation sécuritaire de tâches. Ainsi, la cohabitation utilisateur-agent nécessite une compréhension mutuelle, ce qui signifie que les deux entités devraient être aptes à comparer leurs points de vue ou opinions respectifs avant la délégation d'une tâche commune. Pour répondre à cette problématique, le modèle théorique proposé utilise la logique terminologique comme une approche ontologique pour garantir l'égalité sémantique de leurs opinions avant la mesure du degré de confiance mutuelle. Ce modèle non seulement réduit au minimum la communication entre l'usager et son agent mais aussi constitue une solution pour la délégation sécuritaire de tâches. Le cas concret servant de validation concerne le domaine du commerce électronique

Contributions to the 10th International Cycling Safety Conference 2022 (ICSC2022)

This publication contains all contributions (extended abstracts) to the 10th International Cycling Safety Conference, which was held in Dresden, Germany, Nov. 08-10, 2022

Caring for Stray Cats: An Ethnographic Exploration of Animal Caregiving in Urban Thailand

This dissertation is an ethnographic description of animal caregiving in urban Thailand with a focus on caring for stray cats. The main setting in which I explored this human-animal relationship is Bangkok, locally known as Krung Thep, the capital of Thailand. My aims are to detail the way Thai people carry out caregiving work for stray cats in this highly urbanised environment and to explore this from three key perspectives: (1) a means of trans-species communication; (2) an ethics governing the caregiving work of Thai caregivers for their community animals; and (3) a way of thinking about welfare for humans and animals. I argue that animal caregiving is a practice of trans-species communication that forms a human-animal relationship, and houses are one of the sites to witness how it actualises. As social relationships entail ethical implications, animal caregiving is also considered an ethical project for animal caregivers to collectively achieve an ideal form of trans-species bonds. Because of this social and moral significance, welfare is increasingly perceived as a necessity to support these human-animal bonds