Conversational Computing

Scientists Work to Advance Conversational Computing

TechBriefs | February 10, 2016

In an effort to help solve one of the grand challenges of artificial intelligence, the University of Michigan and IBM have launched a $4.5 million collaboration to develop a new class of conversational technologies that will enable people to interact more naturally and effectively with computers. In Project Sapphire, IBM and the U-M Artificial Intelligence Lab will develop a cognitive system that functions as an academic adviser for undergraduate computer science and engineering majors at the university.

Satinder Singh Baveja, U-M professor of computer science and engineering, illustrates the Turing test, the famous test of machine intelligence developed by Alan Turing in 1950. For a computer to pass it, it must converse with a human so fluidly that the human believes the computer is a person. Also pictured are David Nahamoo, (center) IBM fellow and chief speech technology officer for IBM Watson, and Emily Mower Provost, U-M assistant professor of computer science and engineering. All are part of a team working to develop a truly conversational system that can assist in a student advisory capacity. Source: http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/23407-u-m-ibm-partner-on-advanced-conversational-computing-system

<more at http://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/1297-ntb/23957; related links: http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/23407-u-m-ibm-partner-on-advanced-conversational-computing-system (U-M, IBM partner on advanced conversational computing system. January 14, 2016) and http://www.eweek.com/innovation/ibm-u.-of-michigan-creating-chatty-computer.html (IBM, U. of Michigan Creating Chatty Computer. January 17, 2016)>