Let’s chat: Sounding Board! The state of the Art in Conversational AI

UW's Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering and UW Electrical Engineering are pleased to host an event for those interested in artificial intelligence: a presentation by the Sounding Board team and a demonstration of the technology.

members of the Sounding Board team, standing in front of Drumheller Fountain on UW campusSounding Board was the winning socialbot in the Amazon Alexa Prize, a competition to further conversational artificial intelligence. Our socialbot's approach focuses on finding interesting content to talk about with human users, while trying to understand who the user is.

On Friday April 20th at 4 p.m., the student research team behind Sounding Board will provide a brief high-level presentation about the system. Following this research overview, Allen School Lecturer Lauren Bricker will chat with the bot to provide a demonstration of the technology. The presentation and conversations will provide both a demonstration of the technology and fodder for discussion and audience Q&A.

Some information about Sounding Board is available here, here, and here. Event details:

  • Who should come: High school and University students are encouraged to attend. It's open to the general public -- all ages are welcome
  • Where: UW Seattle Campus, Gowen Hall Room 301
  • Date: April 20th, 4pm start time,  you need to be checked in by 3:45 to guarantee your spot
  • Timing: The event will last from approximately 4pm to 5pm.
  • RSVP: Everyone please RSVP to guarantee space at the event. If you are checked in by 3:45, you will have your space guaranteed -- otherwise, we'll take first come first served at 3:50pm.
  • Parking: We encourage people to bus to campus, but if you need to park, please read the information on the UW Parking page.