HCII Seminar Series - Michael Bernstein
Speaker
Michael Bernstein
Associate Professor, Computer Science, Stanford University
When
-
Where
Newell Simon Hall - Room 1305
Video
Video link
Description
Sujeath Pareddy Memorial Lecture
Sujeath Pareddy was a PhD student in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute from 2018 to 2022. He brought his passion for computing systems and physics to bear on hard, long-standing challenges in accessibility for people with disabilities, while inspiring all of those around him to innovate in big ways that were practically useful to people. We wish to remember Sujeath with this dedicated presentation: The Sujeath Pareddy Memorial Lecture and HCII Speaker Series Presentation.
"Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior"
Effective models of human attitudes and behavior can empower applications ranging from immersive environments to social policy simulation. However, traditional simulations have struggled to capture the complexity and contingency of human behavior. I argue that modern artificial intelligence models allow us to re-examine this limitation. I make my case through generative agents: computational software agents that simulate human behavior. By enabling generative agents to remember, reflect, and plan, we populate an interactive sandbox town of twenty five agents inspired by The Sims. Then, by anchoring agents' memories in qualitative interviews of over 1,000 Americans, I describe how generative agents are able to replicate participants' responses on the General Social Survey 85% as accurately as participants replicate their own answers. Finally, I explore how these human behavioral models can help us design more effective online social spaces, understand the societal disagreement underlying modern AI models, and better embed societal values into our algorithms.
Speaker's Bio
Michael Bernstein is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University, where he is a Bass University Fellow and Interim Director of the Symbolic Systems program. His research focuses on designing social, societal, and interactive technologies. This research has been reported in venues such as The New York Times, TED AI, and MIT Technology Review. Michael has been recognized with an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, the UIST Lasting Impact Award, and the Computer History Museum's Patrick J. McGovern Tech for Humanity Prize. He holds a bachelor's degree in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University, as well as a master's degree and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from MIT.
Speaker's Website
Website
Host
Ken Holstein