Embodied agent: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Latest revision as of 03:32, 31 July 2024

In artificial intelligence, an embodied agent, also sometimes referred to as an interface agent,^[1] is an intelligent agent that interacts with the environment through a physical body within that environment. Agents that are represented graphically with a body, for example a human or a cartoon animal, are also called embodied agents, although they have only virtual, not physical, embodiment. A branch of artificial intelligence focuses on empowering such agents to interact autonomously with human beings and the environment. Mobile robots are one example of physically embodied agents; Ananova and Microsoft Agent are examples of graphically embodied agents. Embodied conversational agents are embodied agents (usually with a graphical front-end as opposed to a robotic body) that are capable of engaging in conversation with one another and with humans employing the same verbal and nonverbal means that humans do (such as gesture, facial expression, and so forth).

Embodied conversational agents

Embodied conversational agents^[2] are a form of intelligent user interface. Graphically embodied agents aim to unite gesture, facial expression and speech to enable face-to-face communication with users, providing a powerful means of human-computer interaction.

Advantages

Face-to-face communication allows communication protocols that give a much richer communication channel than other means of communicating. It enables pragmatic communication acts such as conversational turn-taking, facial expression of emotions, information structure and emphasis, visualisation and iconic gestures, and orientation in a three-dimensional environment. This communication takes place through both verbal and non-verbal channels such as gaze, gesture, spoken intonation and body posture.

Research has found that users prefer a non-verbal visual indication of an embodied system's internal state to a verbal indication,^[3] demonstrating the value of additional non-verbal communication channels. As well as this, the face-to-face communication involved in interacting with an embodied agent can be conducted alongside another task without distracting the human participants, instead improving the enjoyment of such an interaction.^[4] Furthermore, the use of an embodied presentation agent results in improved recall of the presented information.^[5]

Embodied agents also provide a social dimension to the interaction. Humans willingly ascribe social awareness to computers,^[6] and thus interaction with embodied agents follows social conventions, similar to human to human interactions. This social interaction both raises the believability and perceived trustworthiness of agents, and increases the user's engagement with the system.^[7] Rickenberg and Reeves found that the presence of an embodied agent on a website increased the level of user trust in that website, but also increased users' anxiety and affected their performance, as if they were being watched by a real human.^[8] Another effect of the social aspect of agents is that presentations given by an embodied agent are perceived as being more entertaining and less difficult than similar presentations given without an agent.^[7] Research shows that perceived enjoyment, followed by perceived usefulness and ease of use, is the major factor influencing user adoption of embodied agents.^[9]

A study in January 2004 by Byron Reeves at Stanford demonstrated how digital characters could "enhance online experiences" through explaining how virtual characters essentially add a sense of relatability to the user experience and make it more approachable. This increase in likability in turn helps make the products better, which benefits both the end users and those creating the product. ^[10]

Applications

The rich style of communication that characterises human conversation makes conversational interaction with embodied conversational agents ideal for many non-traditional interaction tasks. A familiar application of graphically embodied agents is computer games; embodied agents are ideal for this setting because the richer communication style makes interacting with the agent enjoyable. Embodied conversational agents have also been used in virtual training environments, portable personal navigation guides, interactive fiction and storytelling systems, interactive online characters and automated presenters and commentators.^{[citation needed]}

Major virtual assistants like Siri, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant do not come with any visual embodied representation, which is believed to limit the sense of human presence by users.^[11]

The U.S. Department of Defense utilizes a software agent called SGT STAR on U.S. Army-run Web sites and Web applications for site navigation, recruitment and propaganda purposes. Sgt. Star is run by the Army Marketing and Research Group, a division operated directly from The Pentagon. Sgt. Star is based upon the ActiveSentry technology developed by Next IT, a Washington-based information technology services company. Other such bots in the Sgt. Star "family" are utilized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency for intelligence gathering purposes.^[12]^[13]

References

^ Duan, Jiafei; Yu, Samson; Tan, Hui Li; Zhu, Hongyuan; Tan, Cheston (2022), "A survey of embodied ai: From simulators to research tasks", IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computational Intelligence, 6 (2): 230–244, arXiv:2103.04918, doi:10.1109/TETCI.2022.3141105
^ Cassell, Justine; Prevost, Scott; Sullivan, Joseph; Churchill, Elizabeth (2000), Embodied Conversational Agents, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
^ Marsi, Erwin; van Rooden, Ferdi, "Expressing uncertainty with a talking head in a multimodal question-answering system" (PDF), ILK Research Group, archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2011
^ Kipp, Michael; Kipp, Kerstin H.; Ndiaye, Alassane; Patrick (2006), "Evaluating the tangible interface and virtual characters in the interactive COHIBIT exhibit." (PDF), Proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVA'06), Springer-Verlag, pp. 434–444
^ Beun, Robbert-Jan; de Vos, Eveliene; Witteman, Cilia (2003), "Embodied conversational agents: Effects on memory performance and anthropomorphisation." (PDF), Proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents 2003, Springer-Verlag, pp. 315–319
^ Nass, Clifford; Steuer, Jonathan; Tauber, Ellen R. (1994), "Computers are social actors", CHI '94: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, New York, NY, USA: ACM Press, pp. 72–78
^ ^a ^b van Mulken, Susanne; André, Elisabeth; Müller, Jochen (1988), "The persona effect: How substantial is it?" (PDF), HCI '98: Proceedings of HCI on People and Computers XIII, London, UK: Springer-Verlag, pp. 53–66
^ Rickenberg, Raoul; Reeves, Byron (2000), "The effects of animated characters on anxiety, task performance, and evaluations of user interfaces.", CHI '00: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, New York, NY, USA: ACM Press, pp. 49–56
^ Serenko, Alexander (2008), "A model of user adoption of interface agents for email notification" (PDF), Interacting with Computers, 20 (4–5): 461–472, doi:10.1016/j.intcom.2008.04.004.
^ "The Benefits of Interactive Online Characters". Byron Reeves, Stanford University.
^ Kevin K. Bowden; Tommy Nilsson; Christine P. Spencer; Kubra Cengiz; Alexandru Ghitulescu; Jelte B. van Waterschoot. "I Probe, Therefore I Am: Designing a Virtual Journalist with Human Emotions" (PDF). Proceedings of eNTERFACE'16, Enschede, July 18th – August 12th, 2016
^ Maass, Dave (April 18, 2014). "Answers and Questions About Military, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Agency Chatbots". eff.org. Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved February 5, 2015. Sgt. Star is the U.S. Army's dedicated marketing and recruitment chatbot, and he isn't going to turn whistleblower any time soon.
^ Maass, Dave (January 31, 2014). "Free Sgt. Star: Army Ignores FOIA Request for Artificial Intelligence Records". eff.org. Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved February 5, 2015.

External links

"AI Makes Strides in Virtual Worlds More Like Our Own". Quanta Magazine. June 24, 2022.

[1] Duan, Jiafei; Yu, Samson; Tan, Hui Li; Zhu, Hongyuan; Tan, Cheston (2022), "A survey of embodied ai: From simulators to research tasks", IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computational Intelligence, 6 (2): 230–244, arXiv:2103.04918, doi:10.1109/TETCI.2022.3141105

[2] Cassell, Justine; Prevost, Scott; Sullivan, Joseph; Churchill, Elizabeth (2000), Embodied Conversational Agents, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press

[3] Marsi, Erwin; van Rooden, Ferdi, "Expressing uncertainty with a talking head in a multimodal question-answering system" (PDF), ILK Research Group, archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2011

[4] Kipp, Michael; Kipp, Kerstin H.; Ndiaye, Alassane; Patrick (2006), "Evaluating the tangible interface and virtual characters in the interactive COHIBIT exhibit." (PDF), Proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVA'06), Springer-Verlag, pp. 434–444

[5] Beun, Robbert-Jan; de Vos, Eveliene; Witteman, Cilia (2003), "Embodied conversational agents: Effects on memory performance and anthropomorphisation." (PDF), Proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents 2003, Springer-Verlag, pp. 315–319

[6] Nass, Clifford; Steuer, Jonathan; Tauber, Ellen R. (1994), "Computers are social actors", CHI '94: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, New York, NY, USA: ACM Press, pp. 72–78

[persona-7] van Mulken, Susanne; André, Elisabeth; Müller, Jochen (1988), "The persona effect: How substantial is it?" (PDF), HCI '98: Proceedings of HCI on People and Computers XIII, London, UK: Springer-Verlag, pp. 53–66

[8] Rickenberg, Raoul; Reeves, Byron (2000), "The effects of animated characters on anxiety, task performance, and evaluations of user interfaces.", CHI '00: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, New York, NY, USA: ACM Press, pp. 49–56

[9] Serenko, Alexander (2008), "A model of user adoption of interface agents for email notification" (PDF), Interacting with Computers, 20 (4–5): 461–472, doi:10.1016/j.intcom.2008.04.004.

[The_Benefits_of_Interactive_Online_Characters-10] "The Benefits of Interactive Online Characters". Byron Reeves, Stanford University.

[11] Kevin K. Bowden; Tommy Nilsson; Christine P. Spencer; Kubra Cengiz; Alexandru Ghitulescu; Jelte B. van Waterschoot. "I Probe, Therefore I Am: Designing a Virtual Journalist with Human Emotions" (PDF). Proceedings of eNTERFACE'16, Enschede, July 18th – August 12th, 2016

[12] Maass, Dave (April 18, 2014). "Answers and Questions About Military, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Agency Chatbots". eff.org. Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved February 5, 2015. Sgt. Star is the U.S. Army's dedicated marketing and recruitment chatbot, and he isn't going to turn whistleblower any time soon.

[13] Maass, Dave (January 31, 2014). "Free Sgt. Star: Army Ignores FOIA Request for Artificial Intelligence Records". eff.org. Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved February 5, 2015.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Artificial intelligence concept}}
-{{multiple issues|
 {{cleanup|reason=It seems like this article has been written long ago. It needs to match up pace with current developments|date=October 2012}}
-{{external links|date=October 2012}}
+{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
-}}
-In [[artificial intelligence]], an '''embodied agent''', also sometimes referred to as an interface agent,<ref>{{cite journal
+In [[artificial intelligence]], an '''embodied agent''', also sometimes referred to as an interface agent,<ref>{{Citation
-  | last       = Serenko
+  | last1        = Duan
-  | first      = Alexander
+  | first1       = Jiafei
-  | last2      = Bontis
+  | last2        = Yu
-  | first2     = Nick
+  | first2       = Samson
-  | last3      = Detlor
+  | last3        = Tan
-  | first3     = Brian
+  | first3       = Hui Li
+  | last4        = Zhu
-  | title      = End-user adoption of animated interface agents in everyday work applications
-  | journal    = Behaviour and Information Technology
+  | first4       = Hongyuan
-  | volume     = 26
+  | last5        = Tan
-  | issue      = 2
+  | first5       = Cheston
+  | title        = A survey of embodied ai: From simulators to research tasks
-  | pages      = 119–132
+  | journal      = IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computational Intelligence
-  | url        = http://www.aserenko.com/papers/Serenko_Bontis_Detlor_end_user_adoption_agent.pdf
-  | year       = 2007
+  | volume       = 6
-  | doi        = 10.1080/01449290500260538
+  | number       = 2
+  | pages        = 230–244
-  }}</ref> is an [[intelligent agent]] that interacts with the environment through a physical body within that environment.  Agents that are represented graphically with a body, for example a human or a cartoon animal, are also called embodied agents, although they have only virtual, not physical, embodiment. A branch of artificial intelligence focuses on empowering such agents to interact autonomously with [[human being]]s and the environment. [[Mobile robot]]s are one example of physically embodied agents; [[Ananova]] and [[Microsoft Agent]] are examples of graphically embodied agents. '''Embodied conversational agents''' are embodied agents (usually with a graphical front-end as opposed to a robotic body) that are capable of engaging in conversation with one another and with humans employing the same verbal and nonverbal means that humans do (such as gesture, facial expression, and so forth).
+  | year         = 2022
+  | doi = 10.1109/TETCI.2022.3141105
+ | arxiv = 2103.04918
+ | url = https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9687596
+|url-access=subscription
+}}</ref> is an [[intelligent agent]] that interacts with the environment through a physical body within that environment. Agents that are represented graphically with a body, for example a human or a cartoon animal, are also called embodied agents, although they have only virtual, not physical, embodiment. A branch of artificial intelligence focuses on empowering such agents to interact autonomously with [[human being]]s and the environment. [[Mobile robot]]s are one example of physically embodied agents; [[Ananova]] and [[Microsoft Agent]] are examples of graphically embodied agents. '''Embodied conversational agents''' are embodied agents (usually with a graphical front-end as opposed to a robotic body) that are capable of engaging in conversation with one another and with humans employing the same verbal and nonverbal means that humans do (such as gesture, facial expression, and so forth).
 ==Embodied conversational agents==
-[[File:Automated online assistant.png|thumb|upright|A 2011 image of an [[automated online assistant]] providing [[customer service]] on a web page - an example of an embodied conversational agent.]]
+[[File:Automated online assistant.png|thumb|upright|A 2011 image of an [[automated online assistant]] providing [[customer service]] on a web page - an example of an embodied conversational agent]]
 Embodied conversational agents<ref>{{Citation
   | last1       = Cassell
@@ Line 32: / Line 37: @@
   | last4       = Churchill
   | first4      = Elizabeth
-  | authorlink4 = Elizabeth F. Churchill
+  | author-link4 = Elizabeth F. Churchill
   | title       = Embodied Conversational Agents
   | publisher   = MIT Press
   | place       = Cambridge, MA
   | year        = 2000
-}}</ref> are a form of intelligent [[user interface]].  Graphically embodied agents aim to unite gesture, facial expression and speech to enable face-to-face communication with users, providing a powerful means of [[human-computer interaction]].
+}}</ref> are a form of [[intelligent user interface]]. Graphically embodied agents aim to unite gesture, facial expression and speech to enable face-to-face communication with users, providing a powerful means of [[human-computer interaction]].
 ==Advantages==
-Face-to-face communication allows communication protocols that give a much richer communication channel than other means of communicating. It enables pragmatic communication acts such as conversational [[turn-taking]], facial expression of [[emotion]]s, information structure and emphasis, visualisation and iconic gestures, and orientation in a three-dimensional environment.  This communication takes place through both verbal and non-verbal channels such as [[gaze]], [[gesture]], spoken intonation and body posture.
+Face-to-face communication allows communication protocols that give a much richer communication channel than other means of communicating. It enables pragmatic communication acts such as conversational [[turn-taking]], facial expression of [[emotion]]s, information structure and emphasis, visualisation and iconic gestures, and orientation in a three-dimensional environment. This communication takes place through both verbal and non-verbal channels such as [[gaze]], [[gesture]], spoken intonation and body posture.
 Research has found that users prefer a non-verbal visual indication of an embodied system's internal state to a verbal indication,<ref>{{Citation
@@ Line 47: / Line 52: @@
   | last2        = van Rooden
   | first2       = Ferdi
-  | contribution = Expressing uncertainty with a talking head in a multimodal question-answering system
+|title= Expressing uncertainty with a talking head in a multimodal question-answering system
+|website=ILK Research Group
-  | title        = Proceedings of the Workshop on Multimodal Output Generation (MOG 2007)
+  |url = http://ilk.uvt.nl/~marsi/download/pubs/marsi-van-rooden-mog07.pdf
-  | place        = Aberdeen, UK
+|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720163520/http://ilk.uvt.nl/~emarsi/download/pubs/marsi-van-rooden-mog07.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-20
-  | pages        = 105–116
+}}</ref> demonstrating the value of additional non-verbal communication channels. As well as this, the face-to-face communication involved in interacting with an embodied agent can be conducted alongside another task without distracting the human participants, instead improving the enjoyment of such an interaction.<ref>{{Citation
-  | year         = 2007
-  | contribution-url = http://ilk.uvt.nl/~marsi/download/pubs/marsi-van-rooden-mog07.pdf
-}}</ref> demonstrating the value of additional non-verbal communication channels.  As well as this, the face-to-face communication involved in interacting with an embodied agent can be conducted alongside another task without distracting the human participants, instead improving the enjoyment of such an interaction.<ref>{{Citation
   | last1        = Kipp
   | first1       = Michael
@@ Line 67: / Line 70: @@
   | year         = 2006
   | contribution-url = http://www.dfki.de/~kipp/public_archive/Kippetal2006-IVA.pdf
-}}</ref>   Furthermore, the use of an embodied presentation agent results in improved recall of the presented information.<ref>{{Citation
+}}</ref> Furthermore, the use of an embodied presentation agent results in improved recall of the presented information.<ref>{{Citation
   | last1        = Beun
   | first1       = Robbert-Jan
@@ Line 82: / Line 85: @@
 }}</ref>
-Embodied agents also provide a social dimension to the interaction.  Humans willingly ascribe social awareness to computers,<ref>{{Citation
+Embodied agents also provide a social dimension to the interaction. Humans willingly ascribe social awareness to computers,<ref>{{Citation
   | last1        = Nass
   | first1       = Clifford
-  | authorlink1  = Clifford Nass
+  | author-link1  = Clifford Nass
   | last2        = Steuer
   | first2       = Jonathan
@@ Line 97: / Line 100: @@
   | year         = 1994
   | contribution-url = http://www.agent.ai/download.php?ctag=download&docID=890
-}}</ref> and thus interaction with embodied agents follows social conventions, similar to human to human interactions.  This social interaction both raises the believability and perceived [[trust (social sciences)|trustworthiness]] of agents, and increases the user's engagement with the system.<ref name="persona">{{Citation
+}}</ref> and thus interaction with embodied agents follows social conventions, similar to human to human interactions. This social interaction both raises the believability and perceived [[trust (social sciences)|trustworthiness]] of agents, and increases the user's engagement with the system.<ref name="persona">{{Citation
   | last1        = van Mulken
   | first1       = Susanne
@@ Line 111: / Line 114: @@
   | publisher    = Springer-Verlag
   | contribution-url = http://mm-werkstatt.informatik.uni-augsburg.de/files/publications/46/hci98.pdf
-}}</ref>  Rickenberg and Reeves found that the presence of an embodied agent on a website increased the level of user trust in that website, but also increased users' anxiety and affected their performance, as if they were being watched by a real human.<ref>{{Citation
+}}</ref> Rickenberg and Reeves found that the presence of an embodied agent on a website increased the level of user trust in that website, but also increased users' anxiety and affected their performance, as if they were being watched by a real human.<ref>{{Citation
   | last1        = Rickenberg
   | first1       = Raoul
@@ Line 123: / Line 126: @@
   | publisher    = ACM Press
   | contribution-url = http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=332406
-}}</ref>  Another effect of the social aspect of agents is that presentations given by an embodied agent are perceived as being more entertaining and less difficult than similar presentations given without an agent.<ref name="persona"/> Research shows that perceived enjoyment, followed by perceived usefulness and ease of use, is the major factor influencing user adoption of embodied agents.<ref>{{Citation
+}}</ref> Another effect of the social aspect of agents is that presentations given by an embodied agent are perceived as being more entertaining and less difficult than similar presentations given without an agent.<ref name="persona"/> Research shows that perceived enjoyment, followed by perceived usefulness and ease of use, is the major factor influencing user adoption of embodied agents.<ref>{{Citation
   | last       = Serenko
   | first      = Alexander
@@ Line 139: / Line 142: @@
 A study in January 2004 by Byron Reeves at Stanford demonstrated how digital characters could "enhance online experiences" through explaining how virtual characters essentially add a sense of relatability to the user experience and make it more approachable. This increase in likability in turn helps make the products better, which benefits both the end users and those creating the product.
 <ref name="The Benefits of Interactive Online Characters">{{cite web
-  | url       = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250027374_The_Benefits_of_Interactive_Online_Characters
+  | url       = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250027374
   | title     = The Benefits of Interactive Online Characters
   | publisher = Byron Reeves, Stanford University
@@ Line 145: / Line 148: @@
 ===Applications===
-[[File:Sgt Star FOIA.png|thumb|upright|Sgt. Star, the U.S. Army's online assistant.]]
+[[File:Sgt Star FOIA.png|thumb|upright|Sgt. Star, the U.S. Army's online assistant]]
-The rich style of communication that characterises human [[conversation]] makes conversational interaction with embodied [[conversational agents]] ideal for many non-traditional interaction tasks. A familiar application of graphically embodied agents is [[computer games]]; embodied agents are ideal for this setting because the richer communication style makes interacting with the agent enjoyable.  Embodied conversational agents have also been used in [[E-Learning|virtual training environments]], portable personal navigation guides, interactive fiction and [[storytelling]] systems, [[interactive online character]]s and automated presenters and commentators.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
+The rich style of communication that characterises human [[conversation]] makes conversational interaction with embodied [[conversational agents]] ideal for many non-traditional interaction tasks. A familiar application of graphically embodied agents is [[computer games]]; embodied agents are ideal for this setting because the richer communication style makes interacting with the agent enjoyable. Embodied conversational agents have also been used in [[E-Learning|virtual training environments]], portable personal navigation guides, interactive fiction and [[storytelling]] systems, [[interactive online character]]s and automated presenters and commentators.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
-Major [[Virtual assistant (artificial intelligence)|virtual assistant]]s like [[Siri]] and [[Google Assistant]] do not come with any visual embodied representation, which is believed to limit
+Major [[Virtual assistant (artificial intelligence)|virtual assistant]]s like [[Siri]], [[Amazon Alexa]] and [[Google Assistant]] do not come with any visual embodied representation, which is believed to limit
-the sense of human presence by users.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wwwhome.ewi.utwente.nl/~truongkp/pubs/2016_truong_proceedings_enterface16.pdf|title=I Probe, Therefore I Am: Designing a Virtual Journalist with Human Emotions|author=Kevin K. Bowden, Tommy Nilsson, Christine P. Spencer, Kubra Cengiz, Alexandru Ghitulescu & Jelte B. van Waterschoot}} Proceedings of eNTERFACE’16, Enschede, July 18th – August 12th, 2016</ref>
+the sense of human presence by users.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wwwhome.ewi.utwente.nl/~truongkp/pubs/2016_truong_proceedings_enterface16.pdf|title=I Probe, Therefore I Am: Designing a Virtual Journalist with Human Emotions |author=Kevin K. Bowden |author2=Tommy Nilsson |author3=Christine P. Spencer |author4=Kubra Cengiz |author5=Alexandru Ghitulescu |author6=Jelte B. van Waterschoot}} Proceedings of eNTERFACE'16, Enschede, July 18th – August 12th, 2016</ref>
-The [[U.S. Department of Defense]] utilizes a software agent called [[SGT STAR]] on [[U.S. Army]]-run Web sites and [[Web application]]s for site navigation, [[Military recruitment|recruitment]] and [[propaganda]] purposes. Sgt. Star is run by the [[Army Marketing and Research Group]], a division operated directly from [[The Pentagon]]. Sgt. Star is based upon the ''ActiveSentry'' technology developed by Next IT, a [[Washington (state)|Washington]]-based [[information technology]] [[Service (economics)|services]] company. Other such bots in the Sgt. Star "family" are utilized by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] and the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] for intelligence gathering purposes.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Maass|first1=Dave|title=Answers and Questions About Military, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Agency Chatbots|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/04/answers-questions-about-military-law-enforcement-and-intelligence-agency-chatbots|website=eff.org|publisher=[[Electronic Frontier Foundation]]|accessdate=5 February 2015|date=April 18, 2014|quote=Sgt. Star is the U.S. Army’s dedicated marketing and recruitment chatbot, and he isn’t going to turn whistleblower any time soon.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Maass|first1=Dave|title=Free Sgt. Star: Army Ignores FOIA Request for Artificial Intelligence Records|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/01/free-sgt-star-army-ignores-foia-request-artificial-intelligence-records|website=eff.org|publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation|accessdate=5 February 2015|date=January 31, 2014}}</ref>
+The [[U.S. Department of Defense]] utilizes a software agent called [[SGT STAR]] on [[U.S. Army]]-run Web sites and [[Web application]]s for site navigation, [[Military recruitment|recruitment]] and [[propaganda]] purposes. Sgt. Star is run by the [[Army Marketing and Research Group]], a division operated directly from [[The Pentagon]]. Sgt. Star is based upon the ''ActiveSentry'' technology developed by Next IT, a [[Washington (state)|Washington]]-based [[information technology]] [[Service (economics)|services]] company. Other such bots in the Sgt. Star "family" are utilized by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] and the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] for intelligence gathering purposes.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Maass|first1=Dave|title=Answers and Questions About Military, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Agency Chatbots|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/04/answers-questions-about-military-law-enforcement-and-intelligence-agency-chatbots|website=eff.org|publisher=[[Electronic Frontier Foundation]]|access-date=5 February 2015|date=April 18, 2014|quote=Sgt. Star is the U.S. Army's dedicated marketing and recruitment chatbot, and he isn't going to turn whistleblower any time soon.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Maass|first1=Dave|title=Free Sgt. Star: Army Ignores FOIA Request for Artificial Intelligence Records|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/01/free-sgt-star-army-ignores-foia-request-artificial-intelligence-records|website=eff.org|publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation|access-date=5 February 2015|date=January 31, 2014}}</ref>
 ==See also==
+{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
+* [[Ambient intelligence]]
 * [[Artificial conversational entity]]
+* [[Autonomous agent]]
 * [[Avatar (computing)]]
 <!--* [[Believable agent]] -- doesn't exist-->
+* [[Chatbot]]
+* [[Institute for Creative Technologies]]
+* [[Intelligent agent]]
 * [[Internet Relay Chat bot]]
-* [[Chatterbot]]
+* [[Multi-agent system]]
 * [[Player character]]
-* [[Intelligent agent]]
+* [[Social bot]]
+* [[Software agent]]
-* [[Institute for Creative Technologies]]
+* [[Software bot]]
-* [[Simulated reality#Virtual people]]
+* [[Virtual assistant]]
+{{div col end}}
 ==References==
@@ Line 182: / Line 193: @@
   | postscript = .
 | citeseerx      = 10.1.1.47.8186
+  | s2cid = 207178664
-  }}
+ }}
 * {{Citation
   | last       = Cassell
@@ Line 196: / Line 208: @@
   | postscript = .
   | doi        = 10.1145/332051.332075
+| s2cid = 10691309
-}}
+ }}
 * {{Citation
   | last       = Ruebsamen
   | first      = Gene
   | year       = 2002
+  | title      = Intelligent Agent
-  | title      = Evolving intelligent embodied agents within a physically accurate environment
   | publisher  = M.S. Thesis. California State University, Long Beach: U.S.A
-  | url        = http://coast.library.csulb.edu/record=b2090282~S7
+  | url        = https://onetechmag.com/intelligent-agent/
   | postscript = .
 }}
-==External links==
+== External links ==
-* [http://ai-depot.com/GameAI/Embodied.html Embodied agents in gaming]
-* [http://www.chatbots.org Listing of Chatbots, embodied virtual agents]
+* {{Cite web |date=2022-06-24 |title=AI Makes Strides in Virtual Worlds More Like Our Own |url=https://www.quantamagazine.org/ai-makes-strides-in-virtual-worlds-more-like-our-own-20220624/ |website=[[Quanta Magazine]] |language=en}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Embodied Agent}}
 [[Category:Artificial intelligence]]