Artificial general intelligence: Proceedings of the Second Conference on Artificial General Intelligence, AGI 2009, Arlington, Virginia, USA, March 6-9, 2009

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) research focuses on the original and ultimate goal of AI – to create broad human-like and transhuman intelligence, by exploring all available paths, including theoretical and experimental computer science, cognitive science, neuroscience, and innovative interdisciplinary methodologies. Due to the difficulty of this task, for the last few decades the majority of AI researchers have focused on what has been called narrow AI – the production of AI systems displaying intelligence regarding specific, highly constrained tasks. In recent years, however, more and more researchers have recognized the necessity – and feasibility – of returning to the original goals of the field. Increasingly, there is a call for a transition back to confronting the more difficult issues of human level intelligence and more broadly artificial general intelligence

Co-operative coevolution for computational creativity: a case study In videogame design

The term procedural content generation (PCG) refers to writing software which can synthesise content for a game (or other media such as film) without further intervention from a designer. PCG has become a rich area of research in recent years, finding new ways to apply artificial intelligence to generate high-quality game content such as levels, weapons or puzzles for games. Such research is generally constrained to a single type of content, however, with the assumption that the remainder of the game's design will be fixed by an external designer. Generating many aspects of a game's design simultaneously, perhaps ultimately generating the entirety of a game's design, using PCG is not a well-explored idea. The notion of automated game design is not well-established, and is not seen as a task distinct from simply performing lots of PCG tasks at the same time. In particular, the high-level design tasks guiding the creative direction of a game are all but completely absent in PCG literature, because it is rare that a designer wishes to hand over such responsibility to a PCG system. We present here ANGELINA, an automated game designer that has developed games using a multi-faceted approach to content generation underpinned by a co-operative co-evolutionary approach which breaks down a game design into several distinct tasks, each of which controlled by an evolutionary subsystem within ANGELINA. We will show that this approach works well to automate game design, can be ported across many game engines and game genres, and can be enhanced and extended using novel computational creativity techniques to give the system a heightened sense of autonomy and independence.Open Acces

Eficacia da realidade virtual na rehabilitación da marcha do paciente medular

[Resume] Introducción: La lesión medular es un proceso patológico producido por una interrupción neuronal en la comunicación bidireccional entre el cerebro y el resto del organismo, caracterizándose por una pérdida de las funciones motoras, sensitivas y autónomas. Uno de los objetivos más perseguidos por los pacientes medulares es la consecución de la marcha. Para ello, es necesario trabajar previamente todos los componentes de la misma, y una de las herramientas más innovadoras que se pueden utilizar se basa en el uso de diferentes sistemas de realidad virtual. Objetivo: Conocer la eficacia de la realidad virtual en la mejora de los distintos componentes implicados en la recuperación de la marcha en personas con lesión medular. Material y método: Se realiza una revisión bibliográfica en las bases de datos Cochrane Library, Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science y PEDro, en los últimos cinco años, analizando cuatro variables principales: equilibrio (dinámico y estático), sensibilidad (dolor neuropático y tacto), patrón de marcha (velocidad, distancia frecuencia, anchura y longitud de paso) y capacidad motora (fuerza, esfuerzo, habilidad e imagen motora); así como otras secundarias. Resultados: 10 artículos son seleccionados tras aplicar los criterios de selección: 5 ensayos clínicos, 4 estudios piloto y 1 caso clínico. De estos, 7 analizan la variable equilibrio, 3 la sensibilidad, 4 el patrón de la marcha, 3 la capacidad motora y 8 otras variables secundarias que también se tienen en consideración. Tras la aplicación de una intervención con realidad virtual, se observa una mejora del equilibrio dinámico, una reducción del dolor neuropático y un incremento de la velocidad de la marcha, la distancia recorrida y la fuerza. Mejora también los niveles de dependencia funcional, depresión y ansiedad, sin producir efectos secundarios, y con unos niveles de satisfacción, motivación e interacción elevados. Conclusiones: La realidad virtual es eficaz para mejorar la marcha en personas con lesión medular.[Abstract] Background: The spinal cord injury is a pathological process produced by a neural interruption in the bidirectional communication between the brain and the rest of the organism, characterized by a loss of the motors, sensitives and autonomous functions. One of the most persuade aims by the medullary patients is the achievement of the gait. For this, is necessary to work previously all its components, and one of the most innovative tools that can be use bases in the use of different systems of virtual reality. Objetive: Know the effectiveness of the virtual reality in the improvement of the different components involved in the recovery of the gait in people with spinal cord injury. Methods: A bibliographic review is performed in the databases Cochrane Library, Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science and Pedro, in the last five years, analyzing four main variables: balance (dynamic and static), sensitivity (neuropathic pain and touch), gait pattern (speed, distance, frequency, width and length in steps) and motor capacity (strength, effort, skill and motor image); as well as other secondary. Outcomes: 10 articles are selected after applying the selection criteria: 5 clinical trials, 4 pilot studies and 1 clinical case. Of these, 7 analyze the variable balance, 3 the sensitivity, 4 the gait pattern, 3 the motor capacity and 8 other secondary variables that also have in consideration. After the application of an intervention with virtual reality, observes an improvement of the dynamic balance, a reduction of the neuropathic pain and an increase of the speed of the gait, the covered distance and the strength. Improvement also the levels of functional dependency, depression and anxiety, without producing secondary effects, and with elevate levels of satisfaction, motivation and interaction. Conclusions: The virtual reality is effective to improve the gait in people with spinal cord injury.[Resumo] Introdución: A lesión medular é un proceso patolóxico producido por unha interrupción neuronal na comunicación bidireccional entre o cerebro e o resto do organismo, caracterizándose por unha perda das función motoras, sensitivas e autónomas. Un dos obxectivos mais perseguidos polos pacientes medulares é a consecución da marcha. Para iso, é necesario traballar previamente todos os compoñentes da mesma, e unha das ferramentas mais innovadoras que se poden utilizar baséase no uso de diferentes sistemas de realidade virtual. Obxectivo: Coñecer a eficacia da realidade virtual na mellora dos distintos compoñentes implicados na recuperación da marcha en persoas con lesión medular. Material e método: Realízase una revisión bibliográfica nas bases de datos Cochrane Library, Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science y PEDro, nos últimos cinco anos, analizando catro variables principais: equilibrio (dinámico e estático), sensibilidade (dolor neuropático e tacto), patrón da marcha (velocidade, distancia, frecuencia, anchura e lonxitude do paso) e capacidade motora (forza, esforzo, habilidade e imaxe motora); así como outras secundarias. Resultados: 10 artigos seleccionáronse tras aplicar os criterios de selección: 5 ensaios clínicos, 4 estudios piloto e 1 caso clínico. Destes, 7 analizan a variable equilibrio, 3 a sensibilidade, 4 o patrón de marcha, 3 a capacidade motora e 8 variables secundarias que tamén se teñen en consideración. Tras a aplicación dunha intervención con realidade virtual, obsérvase unha mellora do equilibrio dinámico, una redución do dolor neuropático e un incremento da velocidade da marcha, a distancia percorrida e a forza. Mellora tamén os niveis de dependencia funcional, depresión e ansiedade, sen producir efectos secundarios, e con uns niveis de satisfacción, motivación e interacción elevados. Conclusións: A realidade virtual é eficaz para mellorar a marcha en persoas con lesión medular.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.FCS). Fisioterapia. Curso 2019/202

Medial Transformations: Theorising the Intelligent Mediation Sphere

Media are playing significant roles in the context of the contemporary world. They are deeply interwoven with many aspects of life. The relationships between contemporary media and societies and cultures are complex. Therefore, theorising media situation is a challenging endeavour. The central goals of the current book are to review the ontological and epistemological shifts in medium theories, to theorise contemporary media and critically examine the ‘new’ media practices. In a nutshell, the discussions revolve around three areas of media ontology, media typology and media practices. Media ontology addresses the concepts and definitions of media at a meta-level. The concept of media can be defined either positive – media as a particular technology or cultural/communicational means – or negative – media as complex sets of medial relations or mediation processes. In the current book, media are defined as mediation processes, sets of non-linear mediated formations in transformations (a dynamic-organic state of ‘becoming’ cultural events, media situations, mediated environments and mediation sphere). Media cannot be reduced to certain modalities or technological characteristics, rather they ‘set the shape, pace, rhythms, and typography’ of cognitive, communicational, cultural, social, biopolitical life in temporal and spatial living environment. This definition can provide a holistic approach for categorisation of media. In chapter one, the frameworks of arguments are further discussed in detail. Chapter two, three and four encompass the critical analysis of pre-medium, medium and post-medium theories. The pre-medium theories lack a cohesive and explicit line of discourses in defining media. The medium theories explicitly addressed the issue of media and introduced a new line of scholarship informed by various disciplines during the emergence of the ‘mass media.’ The post-medium theories encompass a larger spectrum of scholarship addressing the issue of mediality in globalised and networked societies. Media typologies are usually based on media technologies or instruments of practices. In the current book, the broad media taxonomies are contextualised on the basis of mediation spheres, the holistic definition of medium discussed earlier. This categorisation provides the scope for analysing dynamics of media situations in a holistic way. The milestones of media transformations in history can be divided into six categories including, presentational, representational, mechanical, electronic, intelligent and biological mediation spheres. In chapter five the dynamics and characteristics of these mediation sphere are further discussed. Contemporary media practices, which are usually termed by the practitioners, can be broadly divided into two categories of media-design (e.g. software design, application design, information design, web design, game design, sound design, computer graphic design, vision-design, interface design, etc.) and media-art (e.g. app-art, application art/software art, game-art, sonic art, digital art, algorithm art, bio-art, neuro-art, interactive-art, video-art, etc.). The two fields of practices are conceptually indistinguishable and complementary to the larger contemporary media culture. The media arts practices are usually the innovative open fields, avant-garde practices or critical reflection on media culture. Media design practices are influenced by the mainstream productions, media literacy, media competence and communication traditions within a given media culture. The media usages and media literacies are expanding progressively depending on the context of media culture. In chapter six, a case study of app-art practices and critique of app culture are discussed in the framework of the intelligent mediation sphere

Understanding the Co-emergence of Urban Location Choice and Mobility Patterns: Empirical Studies and an Integrated Geospatial and Agent-based Model

Understanding and simulating the relationship between urban land-use configuration and patterns of human spatial interaction has been the subject of multi-disciplinary research. Conceptually, it is recognized that the location decisions of several urban actors including individuals, households, firms and public sector institutions, collectively determine the spatial distribution of land-use activities; the emergent land-use patterns, in turn, provide the structural conditions within which flows and interactions between locations occur daily and respond to each other over time. Over the past six decades, various theories and concepts from urban economics, social-physics, transportation studies, and the complexity sciences have underpinned empirical research and development of state-of-the-art simulation models to explore the land-use and travel nexus. Using a case study design and selecting the Kumasi Metropolis, a medium-size metropolis of nearly two-million inhabitants in Ghana, West Africa as the case study area, two main objectives, which reflect research trends and gaps in both the empirical literature and simulation model development have been addressed in this thesis. The first objective was to examine empirically, the location choice behaviour of households and individuals with respect to their residential and job locations, and the mobility patterns associated with the observed home-work location combinations within the metropolis. The second objective was to develop an integrated geospatial and agent-based model to simulate how the residential and job location choice behaviour of heterogeneous households and individuals co-emerge with mobility patterns in the metropolis. The empirical studies presented in this thesis contributes to a deeper understanding of how location-defining attributes at multiple spatial-scales interact with socio-demographic attributes of heterogeneous households and individuals to determine their residential location choice, job location choice and mobility characteristics. The development of the Metropolitan Location and Mobility Patterns Simulator (METLOMP-SIM)—an integrated geospatial and agent-based model also demonstrates how the encoded micro-scale behaviour of purposive households and individuals, interacting with each other and their environment dynamically, could reproduce macro-scale urban location patterns, property market price formation and evolution, and patterns and attributes of spatial flows and interactions anchored on the population’s residential-job location combinations

Technical Concept and Technology Choices for Implementing a Tangible Version of the Sokoban Game

This paper presents and discusses the technical concept of a virtual reality version of the Sokoban game with a tangible interface. The underlying rationale is to provide spinal-cord injury patients who are learning to use a neuroprosthesis to restore their capability of grasping with a game environment for training. We describe as relevant elements to be considered in such a gaming concept: input, output, virtual objects, physical objects, activity tracking and personalised level recommender. Finally, we also describe our experiences with instantiating the overall concept with hand-held mobile phones, smart glasses and a head mounted cardboard setup