[ExI] Killer apps for AI-controlled avatars in virtual worlds ??

[Benjamin Goertzel]

I think it's a great idea, and I note that training simulations are a fairly
major market.  More for corporate and professional training than for
kids or university students.

However, to make an avatar that was really useful as a surrogate
teacher would require a really advanced AGI, I think.  Except of
course if you're aiming at the preschool market -- a virtual
Barney or Big Bird shouldn't be hard to put together with
proto-toddler-level AGI technology!!!

A near-term app of virtual agents is to serve as NPC's in training
simulations -- the so-called "serious games" market.  For instance,
virtual criminals in police training sims, etc. ...

-- Ben



On 5/4/07, Jef Allbright <jef at jefallbright.net> wrote:
>
> Ben -
>
> Any comment on my suggestion of applying the technology to
> motivational enhancement for learning, the virtual learning assistant
> interacting with the student and providing intelligent feedback?  Not
> so much a new idea as one that could be done better.
>
> - Jef
>
>
>
>
> On 5/4/07, Benjamin Goertzel <ben at goertzel.org> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > > Well one application is obvious, considering the spread of the
> > > pixel-sex trade in Second Life, and it wouldn't require a lot of
> > > high-level intelligence to animate virtual prostitutes.
> >
> >
> > But I wonder if anyone would really like this, apart from the
> >  immediate novelty value?  I don't regularly
> > make use of prostitutes in the physical or virtual world,
> > so I don't have a great understanding of the psychology of
> > people who do....  But isn't the fact that it's a HUMAN at
> > the other end of the avatar important for the psychology
> > of e-sex?  At least, I think this would require a very convincing
> > illusion of humanity.  But of course, giving a convincing illusion
> > of humanity in that particular context might not be very hard....
> >
> > A student of mine once wrote a chat bot that impersonated
> > a hot and horny young 15 year old in online chat rooms.  It
> > did very well and attracted a lot of email ;-p
> >
> > > But for more general applications, thinking along the lines of more
> > > intelligently interactive PDAs should be a good bet. More
> > > sophisticated phone answering, with intelligent message-taking
> > > (ensuring the important points are taken), prioritization and
> > > forwarding;  flexibly interactive appointment-taking on your behalf --
> > > these are areas where we expect a human and are disappointed when we
> > > get a machine.  If the machine agent can effectively represent the
> > > specifics of its principle in such cases when the principle isn't
> > > available, it should be a net positive.
> >
> > Yah, I see ... the famous virtual secretary, which according to the AI
> > gurus of the 1960's was "right around the corner" ;-)
> >
> > Presumably with a direct link into "Google Docs and Spreadsheets" +
> > Google Calendar or some such...
> >
> > > Another area where personality counts, but doesn't require a high
> > > level of intelligence, is in artificial pets.
> >
> > That is quite possibly where we'll start ... I already have thought a
> > lot about that space though, which is why my question was about
> > humanlike avatars specifically...
> >
> > >
> > > Similarly, but more suited to physical robotics, would be therapeutic
> > > devices that sense affect and respond with appropriate motivational
> > > behavior.
> > >
> >
> > That is interesting.  Ideally we would want to work with some
> > physical device that automatically senses affect from the person's
> > body and voice, though....  Sensing affect from text is hard, which is
> one
> > of the
> > problems with email and chat communication.  (Chat is better for
> > affect than email, but achieves this at great cost in terms of loss
> > of subtle non-emotional content).
> >
> > -- Ben
> >
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