Related papers: Emotional Interaction between Artificial Companion…
This paper reports on a study conducted as part of the EU EMPATHIC project, whose goal is to develop an empathic virtual coach capable of enhancing seniors' well-being, focusing on user requirements and expectations with respect to…
The development of agents with emotional intelligence is becoming increasingly vital due to their significant role in human-computer interaction and the growing integration of computer systems across various sectors of society. Affective…
As the global population ages, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered agents have emerged as potential tools to support older adults' caregiving. Prior research has explored agent autonomy by identifying key interaction stages in task…
Loneliness and social isolation are serious and widespread problems among older people, affecting their physical and mental health, quality of life, and longevity. In this paper, we propose a ChatGPT-based conversational companion system…
The elderly often struggle when interacting with technologies. This is because the software and hardware components of the technologies are not familiar to the elderly's mental model. This is a lack of empirical studies about how the…
This paper presents our recent research on integrating artificial emotional intelligence in a social robot (Ryan) and studies the robot's effectiveness in engaging older adults. Ryan is a socially assistive robot designed to provide…
AI assistants are increasingly integrated into older adults' daily lives, offering new opportunities for social support and accessibility while raising important questions about privacy, autonomy, and trust. As these systems become embedded…
In multi-agent systems, the agents may have goals that depend on a social, shared interpretation about the facts occurring in the system. These are the so-called social goals. Artificial institutions provide such a social interpretation by…
Participatory Design (PD) methods are effective in understanding older adults' perspectives, concerns, and wishes and generating ideas for new intelligent aids. The aim of our study was first to map perceptions and explore the needs of…
In this paper we describe the requirements and early system design for a smart conversational agent that can assist older adults in the reminiscence process. The practice of reminiscence has well documented benefits for the mental, social…
As an increasing number of interactive devices offer human-like assistance, there is a growing need to understand the human experience of interactive agents. When interactive artefacts with human-like features become intertwined in our…
Intelligent agents have great potential as facilitators of group conversation among older adults. However, little is known about how to design agents for this purpose and user group, especially in terms of agent embodiment. To this end, we…
Addressing the global caregiver shortage through socially assistive robots necessitates a deep understanding of their psychological and physiological impacts on older adults during human-robot interaction (HRI). This study addresses whether…
The rise of AI conversational agents has broadened opportunities to enhance human capabilities across various domains. As these agents become more prevalent, it is crucial to investigate the impact of different affective abilities on their…
Older adults have increasingly turned to conversational AI as a source of emotional support. However, little is known about how emotionally supportive interactions are experienced in everyday use, particularly when AI systems limit,…
In this paper, we analyze the performance of an agent developed according to a well-accepted appraisal theory of human emotion with respect to how it modulates play in the context of a social dilemma. We ask if the agent will be capable of…
Older adults are increasingly turning to conversational AI for emotional expression. While prior research has examined general attitudes toward AI companionship, little is known about the specific moments when and why older adults choose AI…
Artificial intelligence (AI) companions are increasingly promoted as solutions for loneliness, often overlooking how personal dispositions and life-stage conditions shape artificial intimacy. Because intimacy is a primary coping mechanism…
The novel research area of computational empathy is in its infancy and moving towards developing methods and standards. One major problem is the lack of agreement on the evaluation of empathy in artificial interactive systems. Even though…
The current work addresses a virtual environment with self-replicating agents whose decisions are based on a form of "somatic computation" (soma - body) in which basic emotional responses, taken in parallelism to actual living organisms,…