2006.05.18 :: final presentations

seth.jeevan :: one-bit (small-bit) signaling

the skittle experiment
everyone distributed -- then pass around to whatever fancy
compare the quantity of each person

you get these things for different reasons - social interaction, undisclosed, colour favourites, active vs nonactive
no cost for giving, except that you have a finite number in your possession - need to gauge your in vs out items

--> low-cost signaling
what can you deduce, analysis of this signaling system, costs, benefits, etc

can one-bit message acquire meaning without background context, but with existing signaling costs? (ie. finite resources, handicap)
i.e. can this meaningless system acquire meaning through cost-based methods

starfish: web-based graphical system, with each click you increase size of other person, and you decrease
edge thickness - indicate amount of action between two people -- history of last 20 clicks
different dimensions -- judgement based on circle size, judgement based on line thickness

- asynchronous
- semi-anonymous (no indication of specific parties)
- exclusively non-verbal: no text, just graphical

meanings rise from the dust:
clicking signals attention:
check if they're online, see if they're active
teasing and start clicking game
poke to initiate a new relationship
varied - mirror real-world relationships (i.e. can identify medialabber network)
different interpretations of dot size:
rich dot --> poor dot: gift / charity
poor dot --> rich dot: status seeking, want to be included in a community's network, tap the hubs
equal dot --> equal dot: mutual affection
from study, people did not click randomly, had intention signals

* deception? inescapable level of ambiguity in this simple system
deception is all tied up in the couched intentions
is it possible to deceive? or misunderstand? to what extent?
is there a common understanding in an ambiguous situation?
complicit interpretation throughout a community
what to add to make deception a little bit less ambiguous
as time progesses and more bits are available, more consensus on how to interpret this system
what if - what happens if your dot gets depleted? does it disappear/die? is this a competitive game, or more social environment?

-- need more immediate feedback for the user, to tell them what's going on with their click inventory

how do you interpret the different actions and appearances of people in this community? perception from others
bringing conceptual meaning to signaling system


jeff.jesse :: social signaling in 'the sims 2'

game is social simulator, non-violent, popular, all-time #1 game
looking at modeling signaling

create character + environ, issue request to other characters, manage needs

choose many specific details of appearance, physiological and fashion
choose aspirations : define exactly what fulfills their needs

quantify the inventory of 'needs'
everyone you meet gets added to your list of contacts/relationships
other characters are defined with their own set of (invisible) needs
rating on how they feel about you (1D)

rich guy vs poor guy
when they hit on / hug on random women, the women resist / disgust

ambiguous, generic 'language'

giving off impressions:
guy who hasnt showered, stinky and unclean
the women hugs him with feeling, though she does perceive his stinkiness

appearance has no effect
clothing has no signaling effect (free)
if you play music, or serve food, attracts other characters
quality of relationships is purely 1 on 1

- adaptations
clothing can change impression
represent other Sims as a bundle of features (build-in prejudice)
- store identities not as single value but bundle
- compare a stranger to what you know about people with similar features
- i.e. ppl with hat and green shirt are 'typically' argumentative
generalise about strange Sims based on common features
--> add sims + social learning, general impressions
* how do you do this? what kind of structure / process?

you cant change your clothing - no awareness of physical appearance built-in
* how would you build something different to incorporate more awareness of physical features?
-- skill system, gain knowledge / skills, higher status; can attract people by your skills to fulfill their needs
* focus more analysis in terms of skill sets and how it affects / transforms / reframes relationships
-- short-term vs long-term effects in the addition of feature bundles
* incorporate more costs (time, money) -- pay for a wardrobe, or pay for cooking class? reading books or going clubbing? make a forced choice, display of value
reputation: gossip strengthens the bond between the gossiping parties (as akin to gossip / social grooming research, one-to-one exchange of info)
reputation affected only by firsthand witnessing (i.e. guy observing woman flirting with other guy)
adaption: incorporating more nth-hand reputation system, trust network

assessment signals: qualities inventory (read directly), or agent initiates actions to demonstrate
convention signals: user-initiated actions

deception --
get ahead by self-fulfilling things (money, skills)
love triangle - omitting knowledge from other people
marrying for money --> kick them out of house, to keep cash
deception is costly in effort -- if you're going against the inertia of your character, must be consistent in the alternative action
* like ekman, more costly to be more deliberate in showing what you're not truly feeling
- what if you could disguise yourself / change physical appearance / physically deceive?

romance - if you see your lover with someone else, can 'understand' whats going on, affect feelings toward rival

-- deception is tricky, in a constructed system, lots of things are fixed but you work around it
-- deceiving your character vs deceiving others, role-playing is weird; conscious mind vs unconscious mind
* where does the human fit in vs where does the character fit in? actions of character autonomous, or consciously dictated?


mirje.pallavi :: signaling in second life

can change appearance of your avatar, everything from clothing to hair
personality usually keeps consistent but physical appearance can change

role-players
entrepreneurs, building stuff and selling them for profit
social experiments

reputation: costly to rate someone
display of property / possessions owned

profile of 2nd life character, but also display of '1st life' character (ie. real human user)

collab: supportive community
competition: strong markets in terms of goods, housing, land, business; very object-based hierarchy

cost: people invest *lots* of time
- design avatar, build homes, shops, objects, have fun, to socialise, play game called tringo
- real money and professional skills are investments that are beneficial, can improve reputation

virtual mask of role-playing reality -- less barrier / vulnerability to feeling invaded, privacy
everyone, stranger is embodied - can observe without speaking to them
versus IM - which you're there as 'yourself' and dont want to be intruded upon, no observable signals
- investigate more deeply to see if people are being honest / deceptive in their messages

* what makes it compelling to care on what people think of you in second life?
* social dynamics of wanting to be well-regarded by people is high --- why? how is this notion of care and value of reputation designed?

merging of second life and real life -- interact with harvard law school lecture, interact via skype
handicapped people reveal show identities and indicate they are active in second life

* legality and legislation in second life, establish a parallel system, testbed for reality


alea.orkan :: anonymous companion agents for autonomous partner selection

p2p finding and matching partners for various connection purposes
- these systems learn about ppl to support their social interactions
- establishing a long term relationship with your agent

interface
looking for a match (ex. person join you at the theatre)
define criteria - explicit features like gender, quantifiable stats, keywords (answerable by agent)
arbitrary/personal specific questions - 'why are you interested in coming?' (answerable by human)
1. criteria defines short list
2. agent defines ranking (using agent knowledge), secondary criteria; assisted commonsense reasoning
3. if results are above threshold, then you email questions to a select group
-- privacy! what do you want to hide in certain situations? signaling vs privacy
* example: saying you're gay if you're looking for a date, but hiding that information when looking for a job
* define the signaling capabilities + complexities

agents know all features of identity without being specifically identitying a real person
* to what extent can it negotiate with other agents? being different than just a complex search function?
* selectively reveal information in smart negotiation, identity costs in that
* agent to present you in a positive and relevant light so that f2f meetups arent traumatic
* signals are deliberate and evolved communication, distinctive from cues

* signaling through proxies -- agent is signaling on your behalf, agents are receiving signals on others' behalf
* less on person vs. agent (not directly socially competitive)
* investigate competitive signaling through mediation, smart proxies
* search engine versus agent, what level of sophistication and social knowledge and level of control
* highly contextual issues! how to define each situation? and severity of each criteria?