SAL (Sensitive Artificial Listener) Emotion induction technique developed at QUB

SAL (Objective) To capture a broad spectrum of day to day emotional states, expressed in ‘emotionally coloured discourse’ of the type likely to be displayed in everyday conversation SAL simulates what some interviewers and good listeners do –engages a willing person in emotionally coloured interaction on the basis of stock lines keyed in a broad way to the speaker’s emotions

Core approach SAL stands for ‘Sensitive Artificial Listener’ SAL modelled on an ELIZA scenario (see Weizenbaum 1996) User interacts or ‘converses’ with a computer simulation consisting of four characters

How? The SAL presents four characters equipped with a set of characteristic responses encouraging the user into responding in differing emotional states: –‘Poppy’ is optimistic and outgoing –‘Spike’ is confrontational and argumentative –‘Prudence’ is pragmatic and practical –‘Obadiah’ is depressing and gloomy

How? Each character tries to pull the user towards his/her own emotional state The SAL has no intelligence, only prespecified stock responses

Context in which SAL developed SAL started as part of the ERMIS project ( Intended as both an induction technique and as a testbed ERMIS will use SAL to demonstrate prototype system WP5 using SAL simply as an induction technique

SAL: the character scripts Developed, tested & refined in an iterative way Each character has different types of script depending on emotional state of the user –E.g. Poppy has script for user in each of four emotional states - positive active, negative active, positive passive, negative passive –E.g. Script types relevant to the part of conversation (beginning, main part) or structural state of conversation (repair script)

SAL: the character scripts Each script type has range of statements and questions –not context specific as no ‘intelligence’ involved –many are clichés such as ‘Always look on the bright side of things’ (Poppy) or fillers such as ‘Really’ or prompts to keep the conversation going ‘Tell me more’

SAL: instructions for users Users introduced to the system via a standard script –personalities of the characters explained –advised that they can request to change character –asked to select the character they would like to interact with first –users requested to relax and to try to engage the system in a ‘game’ spirit and to use it as an emotional gym

Current version of SAL Does not have a ‘working’ computer interface Role of computer acted by the operator (with appropriate tones of voice for each character) Operator is in same room as the user Operator makes decision on state of the user and selects appropriate script type Current version tested on six users Listeners learn to ‘use’ the system suggesting that longitudinal use by small numbers may be preferable to occasional use by many

SAL: development needed Work is in hand to develop more automated versions of the system The first step is Wizard of Oz situation, Scripts have been recorded for each computer character as.wav files - operator will play these through the user’s computer Appropriate visual image on screen needed to match personality of computer character Full computer control is technically possible, but evaluations suggest that achieving that raises non-trivial issues