Am 6. Juni 2024 leitete Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel auf der LEARNTEC die Sessions mit den sozialen Robotern Alpha Mini und Navel jeweils mit einem Impulsvortrag ein. Der Technikphilosoph und Wirtschaftsinformatiker erklärte, dass soziale Roboter sensomotorische Maschinen sind, die für den Umgang mit Menschen und Tieren geschaffen werden. Er stellte sein Fünf-Dimensionen-Modell vor, das die Interaktion mit Lebewesen, die Kommunikation mit Lebewesen, die Abbildung (von Merkmalen) von Lebewesen, die Nähe zu Lebewesen und den Nutzen für Lebewesen umfasst. In diesem Zusammenhang ging er auf das Projekt „Alpha Mini für die Schule“ ein. Danach präsentierte er @llegra, einen Chatbot, der Vallader (ein Idiom des Rätoromanischen) beherrscht, und Social Robotics Girl, ein GPT, das er in seinem Unterricht einsetzt. Mit den Besuchern der Impulsvorträge war Oliver Bendel im Anschluss noch im angeregten Gespräch.
Abb.: Oliver Bendel bei einem seiner Impulsvorträge (Foto: Rainer E. Becker)
Im Future Lab „Soziale Roboter und GPTs“ am 6. Juni 2024 auf der LEARNTEC konnte man mit Navel und Alpha Mini interagieren und kommunizieren. Zuständig dafür waren Claude Toussaint von navel robotics aus München und Rainer E. Becker von BECKER ROBOTICS aus Wuppertal. Drei Runden gab es hierfür, verteilt über den ganzen Tag. Eingeleitet wurden sie mit Impulsvorträgen von Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel von der Hochschule für Wirtschaft FHNW. Der Technikphilosoph und Wirtschaftsinformatiker stellte sein Fünf-Dimensionen-Modell für soziale Roboter vor, und er ging auf das Projekt „Alpha Mini für die Schule“ ein. Er präsentierte zudem @llegra, einen Chatbot, der Vallader (ein Idiom des Rätoromanischen) beherrscht, und Social Robotics Girl, ein GPT, das er in seinem Unterricht einsetzt. Mit am Stand waren auch Sünne Eichler und Sonja Rapp vom Steinbeis-Transfer-Institut. Sünne Eichler prägt die LEARNTEC seit Jahren und ist Mitglied des Kongresskomitees.
Abb.: Oliver Bendel mit Navel (Foto: Rainer E. Becker)
Im Future Lab „Soziale Roboter und GPTs“ am 6. Juni 2024 auf der LEARNTEC konnte man mit Navel und Alpha Mini interagieren und kommunizieren. Zuständig dafür waren Claude Toussaint von navel robotics aus München und Rainer E. Becker von BECKER ROBOTICS aus Wuppertal. Rainer E. Becker, Gründer und Geschäftsführer, hat 600 Lösungen im Bereich der Sozialen Robotik im Angebot. Er führte den Besuchern seinen Alpha Mini vor, der bei ihm YANNY heisst. YANNY machte Yoga, Kung Fu und Push-Ups und sagte kluge Dinge. Bei einer Besucherin erschienen plötzlich Herzchen in seinen Augen. Kurator des Future Lab zu sozialen Robotern und GPTs war Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel von der Hochschule für Wirtschaft FHNW. Mit am Stand waren auch Sünne Eichler und Sonja Rapp vom Steinbeis-Transfer-Institut. Sünne Eichler prägt die LEARNTEC seit Jahren und ist Mitglied des Kongresskomitees.
Abb.: YANNY mit Rainer E. Becker und einer Besucherin
Im Future Lab „Soziale Roboter und GPTs“ am 6. Juni 2024 auf der LEARNTEC konnte man mit Navel und Alpha Mini interagieren und kommunizieren. Zuständig dafür waren Claude Toussaint von navel robotics aus München und Rainer E. Becker von BECKER ROBOTICS aus Wuppertal. Claude Toussaint, Gründer und Geschäftsführer, hatte den jungenhaften sozialen Roboter auf den Bildungskontext vorbereitet. So konnte dieser zu entsprechenden Fragen überzeugende Antworten geben. Dabei schaute er mit seinen plastisch wirkenden, lebensechten Augen den Benutzer an. Fasziniert war er auch von den Oberlichtern an der Decke und überhaupt vom Geschehen in Halle 2. Kurator des Future Lab zu sozialen Robotern und GPTs war Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel von der Hochschule für Wirtschaft FHNW. Mit am Stand waren auch Sünne Eichler und Sonja Rapp vom Steinbeis-Transfer-Institut. Sünne Eichler prägt die LEARNTEC seit Jahren und ist Mitglied des Kongresskomitees.
Die Learntec ist die führende E-Learning-Messe und -Konferenz in Europa. Seit Jahrzehnten ist sie der Treffpunkt für Bildungsverantwortliche, HR-Mitarbeiter, Leiter von E-Learning-Einrichtungen, Hochschullehrer, Lehrer und alle Interessierten. Geprägt wird sie von Experten wie Sünne Eichler und Prof. Dr. Peter A. Henning. Im Future Lab „Soziale Roboter und GPTs“ am 6. Juni 2024 auf der LEARNTEC kann man mit Navel und Alpha Mini interagieren und kommunizieren. Man kann sie etwa zu Bewegungen des Körpers veranlassen, ihre gestischen und mimischen Fähigkeiten bewundern oder mit ihnen ein Gespräch führen. Bei beiden Modellen handelt es sich um soziale Roboter, die auf dem neuesten technischen Stand sind und im Lernkontext eingesetzt werden können. Die drei Sessions leitet Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel von der Hochschule für Wirtschaft FHNW mit seinem Impulsvortrag „Soziale Roboter und GPTs im Lernbereich“ ein. Die Ansprechpartner für die beiden Roboter sind Claude Toussaint von navel robotics aus München und Rainer E. Becker von BECKER ROBOTICS aus Wuppertal. Man hat zudem die Möglichkeit, mit einem GPT namens Social Robotics Girl zu kommunizieren, das Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel in seinem Unterricht einsetzt.
„Seit vielen Jahren wird Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel von der Hochschule für Wirtschaft FHNW auf seinen Konferenzreisen immer wieder von seinen Studenten und Studentinnen begleitet. Diese sind Zweitautoren, manchmal auch Erstautoren der Artikel. Es handelt sich um Projekte, die der studierte Philosoph und promovierte Wirtschaftsinformatiker zum Teil über lange Zeiträume vorbereitet. In den meisten Fällen entstehen Artefakte aus der Maschinenethik, der Tier-Maschine-Interaktion und der Sozialen Robotik heraus, die aus ethischer, sozialwissenschaftlicher und wirtschaftswissenschaftlicher Perspektive reflektiert werden.“ Mit diesen Worten beginnt ein Beitrag der Hochschule für Wirtschaft FHNW, der am 27. Mai 2024 veröffentlicht wurde. Er geht auf mehrere Papers ein, die zusammen mit Studenten entstanden und in Proceedings veröffentlicht worden sind. Auch auf ein laufendes Projekt zu Robotern in Gefängnissen kommt die Sprache: „Manche Projekte seien mit Bachelorarbeiten verbunden, andere mit Masterarbeiten. In Ausnahmefällen sei eine Zusammenarbeit schon vor dem Abschluss möglich. Zurzeit besucht er zusammen mit Tamara Siegmann, die im Februar sein Wahlmodul zu sozialen Robotern belegt hatte, Schweizer Gefängnisse und führt Interviews mit Direktoren und Insassen zum Einsatz von Servicerobotern und sozialen Robotern.“ Der Artikel kann hier aufgerufen werden.
The paper „How Can Generative AI Enhance the Well-being of the Blind?“ by Oliver Bendel is now available as part of the „Proceedings of the AAAI 2024 Spring Symposium Series“. The Zurich-based scientist presented the paper at the symposium „Impact of GenAI on Social and Individual Well-being“ in March 2024. From the abstract: „This paper examines the question of how generative AI can improve the well-being of blind or visually impaired people. It refers to a current example, the Be My Eyes app, in which the Be My AI feature was integrated in 2023, which is based on GPT-4 from OpenAI. The author’s tests are described and evaluated. There is also an ethical and social discussion. The power of the tool, which can analyze still images in an amazing way, is demonstrated. Those affected gain a new independence and a new perception of their environment. At the same time, they are dependent on the world view and morality of the provider or developer, who prescribe or deny them certain descriptions. An outlook makes it clear that the analysis of moving images will mean a further leap forward. It is fair to say that generative AI can fundamentally improve the well-being of blind and visually impaired people and will change it in various ways.“ It was Oliver Bendel’s ninth consecutive appearance at the AAAI Spring Symposia, which this time consisted of eight symposia on artificial intelligence. The paper can be downloaded at ojs.aaai.org/index.php/AAAI-SS/article/view/31232.
The paper „How Can GenAI Foster Well-being in Self-regulated Learning?“ by Stefanie Hauske and Oliver Bendel is now available as part of the „Proceedings of the AAAI 2024 Spring Symposium Series“. Oliver Bendel presented the paper at the symposium „Impact of GenAI on Social and Individual Well-being“ in March 2024. From the abstract: „This paper explores how generative AI (GenAI) can improve the well-being of learners within self-regulated learning (SRL) frameworks in the corporate context. In the ‚GenAI to Support SRL‘ section, it presents three custom versions of ChatGPT aimed at assisting learners. These so-called GPTs demonstrate the GenAI’s potential to actively support learners in SRL and positively influence their well-being. The ‚Discussion‘ and ‚Summary and Outlook‘ sections provide a balanced overview of the opportunities and risks associated with GenAI in the field of learning and highlight directions for future research. The results indicate that GenAI could improve the well-being of learners in SRL through providing personalized guidance, reducing feelings of stress, and increasing motivation and self-efficacy. At the same time, there are several challenges for companies and employees that need to be overcome.“ It was Oliver Bendel’s ninth consecutive appearance at the AAAI Spring Symposia, which this time consisted of eight symposia on artificial intelligence. The paper can be downloaded at ojs.aaai.org/index.php/AAAI-SS/article/view/31234.
Fig.: GPTs in the form of VLCs can help students (Image: DALL-E 3)
In addition to the ICSR in Odense, which focuses on social robotics and artificial intelligence, there is also the ICSR in Naples this year, which organizes a robot competition. In addition, an ICSR conference focusing on biomedicine and the healthcare sector will take place in Singapore from August 16-18, 2024. The website states: „The 16th International Conference on Social Robotics + BioMed (ICSR + BioMed 2024) focuses on interdisciplinary innovation on Bio-inspired, Biomedical, and Surgical Robotics. By fostering the much-needed merging of these disciplines, together with fast emerging Biotech, the conference aims to ensure the lesson learned from these communities blend to unleash the real potential of robots. … The conference will serve as the scientific, technical, and business platform for fostering collaboration, exploration, and advancement in these cutting-edge fields. It will showcase the latest breakthroughs and methodologies, shaping the future of robotics design and applications across several sectors including Biomedical and healthcare.“ (Website ICSR) Papers must be submitted by June 5, 2024. Further information on the conference is available at robicon2024.org.
The upcoming international Robophilosophy Conference 2024 in Aarhus is set to tackle the socio-cultural and ethical questions arising from the use of generative multimodal AIs in social robotics. The event will bring together global scholars from humanities, social sciences, social robotics, and computer science, aiming to produce actionable insights and responsibly address the socio-cultural transformations brought about by social robotics. It is part of the Robophilosophy Conference Series, known for its large scale events for humanities research in social robotics. RP2024 highlights the urgency of closer collaboration between tech experts and societal experts to establish research-based regulations. The program committee includes Sherry Turkle (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Wendell Wallach (The Hastings Center), and Melanie Mitchell (Santa Fe Institute). Among the speakers is Oliver Bendel, who will present his accepted paper „The Universal Robot of the 21st Century“. He has been attending the conference without interruption since 2018.
Fig. A contradictory presentation of an all-purpose robot
Vom 4. bis zum 6. Juni 2024 findet die Learntec, die größte E-Learning-Messe und -Konferenz Europas, in Karlsruhe statt. Kurator des Future Lab zu sozialen Robotern und Virtual Learning Companions (VLCs) ist Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel, der seit einem Vierteljahrhundert sogenannte Conversational Agents als verkörperte oder nichtverkörperte Entitäten erforscht. Um die Jahrtausendwende waren es vor allem Pedagogical Agents, die sein Interesse erregten. Inzwischen geht es u.a. um Pflege- und Therapieroboter, Lehrerroboter und Polizeiroboter sowie VLCs der zweiten Generation. Man wird auf der Learntec mit zwei sozialen Robotern interagieren und kommunizieren können, die den neuesten Stand der Technik darstellen. Zugesagt haben hierfür Navel Robotics und Becker Robotics. Zudem wird man an einer Station mit Social Robotics Girl chatten können, einem von Oliver Bendel entwickelten GPT. Videos und Impulsvorträge zu sozialen Robotern und Virtual Learning Companions vermitteln Wissen zum Thema und geben Einblicke in Projekte. Weitere Informationen gibt es ab Mai 2024 auf informationsethik.net und auf der Website der Learntec. Oliver Bendel hat bereits 2002 bis 2004 als Referent zum Programm beigetragen. Seit 2022 ist er wieder mit an Bord.
Abb.: Oliver Bendel bei der Learntec 2022 (Foto: Learntec)
From March 25 to 27, 2024, the AAAI Spring Symposium Series took place at Stanford University. One of the events was dedicated to the question of how generative AI can improve well-being. What do you do after such an AI conference? One option is to go to San Francisco. It is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Another option is to head south. Not only San Diego is located there, but also Los Angeles. The Griffith Observatory is located in Griffith Park at an altitude of 300 metres. Visitors have a view over the whole of Los Angeles and the surrounding area, from Downtown to Santa Monica and Malibu. The observatory is known for its scientific exhibitions and planetarium. The 190-seat Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Presentation Theater, built at the turn of the millennium, expands the Observatory’s programming and educational opportunities. Numerous scenes from well-known films and series were shot in and around the building, including „Flash Gordon“ (1936), „Rebel Without a Cause„ (1955), „Terminator“ (1984), „Transformers“ (2007), and „La La Land“ (2017).
Fig.: View from Griffith Observatory in April 2024
From March 25 to 27, 2024, the AAAI Spring Symposium Series took place at Stanford University. One of the events was dedicated to the question of how generative AI can improve well-being. What do you do after such an AI conference? One option is to go to San Francisco. It is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Another option is to head south. Not only San Diego is located there, but also Los Angeles. There – in Downtown, to be exact – is the Broad Museum, which has a unique collection of modern art, with works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Takashi Murakami, to name but a few. Those who managed to get one of the free tickets were able to visit the „Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away (2013)“ by Yayoi Kusama. A maximum of four people are allowed to stay on the ramp and immerse themselves in the sea of lights.
Fig.: The „Infinity Mirrored Room“ by Yayoi Kusama
From March 25 to 27, 2024, the AAAI Spring Symposium Series took place at Stanford University. One of the events was dedicated to the question of how generative AI can improve well-being. What do you do after such an AI conference? One option is to go to San Francisco. It is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Another option is to head south. Not only San Diego is located there, but also Los Angeles. There – more precisely in Brentwood – is the Getty Center, which has a great collection, but also impresses with its building and grounds. You should also definitely visit the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades. The building, which is modeled on the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum, houses a remarkable collection of genuine antique sculptures and everyday objects. There are copies in the outdoor areas – here it is the water basins and fountains that are enchanting.
From March 25 to 27, 2024, the AAAI Spring Symposium Series took place at Stanford University. One of the events was dedicated to the question of how generative AI can improve well-being. What do you do after such an AI conference? One option is to go to San Francisco. It is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Another option is to head south. Not only Los Angeles is located there, but also San Diego. From there you can go on whale-watching tours. February to April are particularly suitable for this. With a bit of luck, you can see humpback whales and gray whales, dolphins and sea lions. Seagulls and pelicans are always present. The whales are not detected using sonar or radar, nor with the help of transmitters attached to them. Instead, they are searched for the „footprint“ they leave behind. This is a smooth, glassy circle that is a result of the animal’s forward movement. With dolphins, there is nothing to do. They come to the boats of their own accord and swim competitively with them.
From March 25 to 27, 2024, the AAAI Spring Symposium Series took place at Stanford University. One of the events was dedicated to the question of how generative AI can improve well-being. What do you do after such an AI conference? One option is to go to San Francisco. It is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Another option is to head south. Not only Los Angeles is located there, but also San Diego. The Balboa Park, which has existed since 1868, is well worth a visit. The Panama-California Exposition of 1910-1916 provided the decisive boost. A fantasy city with richly decorated buildings was created. At the Japanese Friendship Garden, hummingbirds can often be seen flitting back and forth between the trees. San Diego also has beautiful beaches to offer. However, the water is sometimes heavily polluted, so swimming is prohibited – this was also the case in spring 2024.
From March 25 to 27, 2024, the AAAI Spring Symposium Series took place at Stanford University. One of the events was dedicated to the question of how generative AI can improve well-being. What do you do after such an AI conference? One option is to go to San Francisco. It is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Another option is to head south-east. Not only Death Valley and the Mojave Desert are located there, but also cities such as Palm Springs. There you can chill by the pool in one of the many historic hotels or visit the Palm Springs Art Museum. In front of it stands „Forever Marilyn“, a statue created by the sculptor John Seward Johnson II. Those who are drawn to the great outdoors should definitely visit the Indian Canyons. In the 15-mile-long Palm Canyon, there are countless palm trees along a stream that carried a lot of water in the spring of 2024 and led to some flooding on the paths.
Fig.: The Palm Canyon is a part of the Indian Canyons
From March 25 to 27, 2024, the AAAI Spring Symposium Series took place at Stanford University. One of the events was dedicated to the question of how generative AI can improve well-being. What do you do after such an AI conference? One option is to go to San Francisco. It is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Another option is to head south-east. There you will find one of the most beautiful national parks in the United States, Death Valley. Karl May readers will be familiar with it from the novel „Im Tal des Todes“. In spring 2024, it was home to a natural spectacle. In Badwater, where a layer of salt normally covers the ground, a shallow lake had formed. Many visitors waded through it and it looked as if they were walking on water. In addition to the famous sights such as Zabriskie Point, Artists Palette and Dante’s View, Golden Canyon is recommended, especially in the hours before sunset.
From March 25 to 27, 2024, the AAAI Spring Symposium Series took place at Stanford University. One of the events was dedicated to the question of how generative AI can improve well-being. What do you do after such an AI conference? One option is to go to San Francisco. It’s certainly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Another option is to head south. Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea are worthwhile little towns with a long history. In between, the 17 Miles Drive beckons with beautiful views of the wild sea and the old trees on the hills and along the shore. Famous is the Lonely Pine, which is a popular photo motif. If you want to watch otters, Pacific Grove is the place to be. From Lovers Point, you can watch the animals hunting and playing. There are a few historic hotels right by the sea, such as the Green Gables. If you have the right room, you can watch the otters there until night falls over the bay.
On the second day of the AAAI Spring Symposia, one could already get the impression that the traditional conference has returned to its former greatness. The Covid pandemic had damaged it. In 2023, there were still too few participants for some symposia. Many stayed home and watched the sessions online. It was difficult for everyone involved. But the problems had already started in 2019. At that time, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence had decided not to publish the proceedings centrally any more, but to leave it to the individual organizers. Some of them were negligent or disinterested and left the scientists alone with their demands. In 2024, the association took over the publication process again, which led to very positive reactions in the community. Last but not least, of course, the boost from generative AI helped. In 2024, you can see many happy and exuberant AI experts at Stanford University, with mild temperatures and lots of sunshine.
Douglas „Doug“ Bruce Lenat was an American AI researcher and founder and CEO of Cycorp, Inc. in Austin, Texas. He died in 2023 at the age of 72. Not long before, he had participated in the AAAI Spring Symposia. In a touching speech, Edward „Ed“ Albert Feigenbaum remembered his friend and colleague on the afternoon of 26 March 2024 at the symposium „Empowering Machine Learning and Large Language Models with Domain and Commonsense Knowledge (AAAI-MAKE 2024)“. He is a famous American computer scientist who is considered the father of expert systems. Andreas Martin from the FHNW School of Business created the framework in a sensitive manner. He also called up a video that had never been posted online and that most of the audience had never seen before. It showed Doug Lenat giving an online lecture. Back in 1983, he had come to the opinion that heuristics lead to a dead end because a program mostly learns new things that are similar to what it already knows. His conclusion was that the first step was to make it’s knowledge base as large as possible. This led to the Cyc project, which aimed to capture the general knowledge of an average adult. Both Ed Feigenbaum and Doug Lenat proved to be critics of large language models at the event. More information about the AAAI 2024 Spring Symposia is available here.
Fig.: Edward Feigenbaum during his speech at Stanford University
On March 26, 2024, Oliver Bendel (School of Business FHNW) gave two talks on generative AI at Stanford University. The setting was the AAAI Spring Symposia, more precisely the symposium „Impact of GenAI on Social and Individual Well-being (AAAI2024-GenAI)“. One presentation was based on the paper „How Can Generative AI Enhance the Well-being of the Blind?“ by Oliver Bendel himself. It was about the GPT-4-based feature Be My AI in the Be My Eyes app. The other presentation was based on the paper „How Can GenAI Foster Well-being in Self-regulated Learning?“ by Stefanie Hauske (ZHAW) and Oliver Bendel. The topic was GPTs used for self-regulated learning. Both talks were received with great interest by the audience. All papers of the AAAI Spring Symposia will be published in spring. The proceedings are edited by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence itself.
Fig.: Oliver Bendel after his talks (Photo: Milan Kostic)
