The use of information systems saves workers and businesses countless hours of tedious labor. Still, users of information systems often become frustrated with the system's inability to grasp simple common sense knowledge. "Why can't you understand what I need?" is a typical response to a computer incapable of working outside the framework for which it was designed. The solution is to create computer systems that use AI and guess what the user needs provided with little input or prompting. However, true artificial intelligence has challenged computer scientists for decades. Most researchers believe that to create a thinking machine, the machine must have a physical presence with which to experience its environment. Researchers have used robotics to try this approach, but it is costly, especially since robotics technology is still in its infancy. Many AI researchers are turning to virtual worlds to provide their systems with an environment from which to experience life. Virtual worlds such as Second Life provide a virtual landscape for people to explore through the use of avatars, characters within the environment that the user controls. Second Life allows users to build houses and businesses and even sell products to other avatars. It strives to mirror the physical, social, and economic sense of the real world. Because Second Life is not bound by the laws of physics, users perform actions that aren't possible in real life, such as flying. Second Life presents the perfect environment for AI systems to experience the world and then learn from those experiences. Novamente LLC is one AI company that has created AI-driven avatars in a virtual world. These avatars appear as animals that are eager to learn. For example, a Novamente dog avatar can be taught to play soccer. Through the use of praise and correction, the AI system will learn how to play the game, including its rules and strategies. Novamente also has a Parrot avatar that is learning language skills by talking with people. While in Second Life, you might run into Edd, an AI avatar created by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Edd can converse and reason, although he has the intelligence of a four year old. Even that much intelligence takes an immense amount of complex calculus to accomplish. Still, Edd can communicate and influence a real user's actions. Many AI avatars are moving to Second Life and other virtual worlds. AI researchers find it to be an ideal environment for training AI systems and allowing them to interact with real people through virtual avatars. Michael Mateas, a computer science professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, says, "It's a fantastic sweet spot-not too simple, not too complicated, high cultural value." But how will these AI systems service people and businesses? Selmer Bringsjord, head of Rensselaer's Cognitive Science Department and leader of the research project, sees the research applying to practical needs in other virtual environments such as entertainment and gaming, as well as immersive training and education. "The apps, frankly, are endless," Bringsjord said. "Imagine being able to step into a simulation environment in which you interact with synthetic characters as sophisticated as those seen in Star Trek's holodeck." Consider other uses of AI avatars in virtual worlds. AI systems might be used to work on the behalf of businesses. For example, a salesperson could create a thousand avatars of himself and send the team out to sell products. Other AI systems could be used to collect information and survey the population for marketing or other uses. At the same time, rules must be developed to govern the use of virtual reality in business. For example, an avatar should identify itself as a virtual being so that people do not assume it is human.
Discussion Questions
1. Why are AI features and avatars proliferating in Second Life and other virtual worlds?
2. What types of research are being conducted using AI avatars?
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Why might AI avatars eventually make Second Life users uncomfortable? What might be done to calm the fears?
2. What types of business applications might be provided by AI avatars in Second Life?