CMU talk: Computing with Language and Context over Time

Speaker: Gregory Aist, Arizona State University

Title: Computing with Language and Context over Time

What: Joint LTI/RI Seminar
When: Friday November 7, 2008, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Where: 1305 NSH

Abstract:
How do language and context interact in learning and performance by humans and machines? To explore this broad area of inquiry, I have studied interactions between natural language and a wide range of different contexts: visual context, social and team context, written context and world knowledge, procedure and task context, dialogue and temporal context, and instructional context. Specific research questions have included how machines can process spoken language continuously and integrate speech and visual context during understanding; how computers can help pilots and astronauts learn and perform tasks; and how to automatically generate, present, and evaluate the effects of vocabulary help for children. One key challenge in addressing all of these questions is to model and compute representations of language and context that unfold over time as the interaction progresses. This talk will illustrate the need for such interactive time-sensitive processes, describe computational approaches to understanding language and context as dialogue and interactions unfold across time, and evaluate the effectiveness of such approaches.

Short bio:
Gregory Aist is currently at Arizona State University as an Assistant Research Professor in the School of Computing and Informatics and the Applied Linguistics Program. His research interests are in natural language processing and computer-assisted learning. His research addresses fundamental issues in language and learning, tackles computational challenges of automatic processing of human language and computer support for human learning, and is applied to provide users with learning experiences and new capabilities in authentic settings for educational domains such as traditional literacy (reading and writing) and new literacies (virtual worlds), and physical domains such as aerospace and human-robot interaction. During summers 2007 and 2008 he was an Air Force Summer Faculty Fellow. Previously he has held research and visiting positions at the University of Rochester, RIACS/NASA Ames Research Center, and the MIT Media Lab. He received a Ph.D. in Language and Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University in 2000, where he was an NSF Graduate Fellow.