SCReAm - a social conversational intelligent agent model

Abstract

Clark (1996) describes Language as being used to do things . According to Clark in fact, people use it in everyday conversation for transacting business, planning meals and vacations, debating politics, gossiping. Teachers use it for instructing students, etc . This places the use of language as being a joint action between the participants in the conversation, a dual action-reaction response which lies at the basis of every form of communication. Chatbots, Web bots, avatars or virtual agents, aim to reach a level of communication which allows users to interact with the machine using natural language. There are various such conversational agents which are available freely across the web or sold commercially for specific purposes. The aim of SCReAm is that of providing an agent which can not only provide a focused conversation based upon social themes of significance for the island of Malta, but also be capable of learning from the users conversation and apply that knowledge to further enhance the conversation sustained. The system s ultimate aim is that of having this agent freely available online to users bringing together issues that are mostly pertinent to social attitudes and behaviors related to the younger generation on the Maltese islands.