Machine Enculturation

Ph.D. Quals - Lyra: Simulating Believable Opinionated NPCs (Extended)

This work expands on and extends work previously pubished for the Lyra System towards the Ph.D. Computer Science qualifier requirement at NC State University. We conducted a human-subjects study of Lyra to evaluate the generated conversations and …

Lyra: Simulating Believable Opinionated Virtual Characters

Lyra is a simulation of a opinionated population of virtual characters with inherent biases that can believably debate politically-charged topics. We conducted a human-subjects study to evaluate these generated conversations and affinity groups for their believability and to inform future iterations of the simulation. We believe successful simulation of opinion change in social dynamics provides a foundation for computational recognition, prediction, and interfacing with humans.