Free Lecture on Artificial Intelligence for Virtual Humans

Professor Marc Cavazza will be delivering the next free public lecture of the University of Teesside’s 2001/2002 lecture season on the subject of Artificial Intelligence for Virtual Humans, in the University’s Europa Building, Woodlands Road, Middlesbrough on Wednesday 6 February. It begins at 6.30pm, with refreshments available from 6pm.

French-born Professor Cavazza, who is the University of Teesside’s Professor of Intelligent Virtual Environments, is an expert advisor to the European Union on Information Society Technology Programmes. He said: “The past decade has seen important developments in the field of Virtual Humans, the computerised representations of human beings. These Virtual Humans have found applications in simulation, computer games and the media and their increasingly realistic appearance has created great expectations, such as the emergence of artificial actors for the films of tomorrow, or personalised virtual assistants guiding the user through information-rich cyberspace. However, progress has been much slower in developing a sophisticated, working level of Artificial Intelligence, the ‘Holy Grail’ of the computer programmer.

“I will illustrate the most common problems encountered in the development of Artificial Intelligence, such as the understanding of human language and the concept of ‘doing the right thing’ in any given situation, and recent progress in addressing them. The potential for future applications of intelligent virtual humans will also be debated, perhaps offering a brief look into a future where real and artificial persons work ‘side by side’.”

For further information, contact Mark White at the University’s Vice Chancellor’s office on 01642 342002.

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