If, for example, the “Digital Einstein” notices that his partner in dialogue has turned away, he will quickly ask whether they are distracted or bored. If he doesn’t understand something, he will apologise and ask the person to repeat the question. “These intuitive responses differentiate digital figures like Einstein from conventional question-and-answer assistants like Siri or Alexa,” explains Schüller.
Einstein still has a lot to learn
Being able to take part in an entirely unscripted conversation is still the stuff of pipe dreams. Einstein is the main driving force behind the conversation. He asks the questions and proposes topics that the user can explore further by answering him. Schüller notes that one particular challenge involves the audio and visual data having to be processed in real time to ensure the conversations and interactions are fluent. Protracted waits and delays would immediately disrupt the conversation and destroy the illusion.
At present, all of Einstein’s potential answers and responses have to be defined in advance by the developers. While this allows the content to be controlled based on preset storylines, it does restrict the fluency of the conversation. “In future, it will no doubt be possible to have more open-ended conversations,” states Professor Gross. “However, digital figures like Einstein will need to have access to a pool of knowledge and have self-learning abilities. They also require a working memory and emotions. The machine learning and language processing applications required for this have not yet been sufficiently developed.”
Digital avatars – a research field
Advances in the field of artificial intelligence and computer graphics have led to progress in the development of avatars and chatbots. Digital characters like Einstein offer the chance to make interactions between humans and machines more intuitive as well as more accessible for people who are less tech-savvy, or those with disabilities. There are many potential areas of application. Animated figures, for example, could be used at ticket offices or hotel check-in desks, in product consultation sessions, or as virtual coaches in the health care industry.
At 20 October
, “Digital Einstein” will take up residence in ETH’s Campus Info Hönggerberg for one week. Students, employees and visitors to ETH will have the opportunity to speak to Einstein and find out more about his time as a student and professor at ETH.
