Keynote Speakers

Dreamask.ai, Microsoft Research 

Talk: Resolving Dissonance: Generative AI, Cognition, and Immersive Technology (AR/VR) Concert

In this talk, we will explore the symbiotic relationship between Generative AI, human cognition, and Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), and parallel computing. By weaving these dynamic elements together, we aim to shed light on the profound interplay between technology and human experience.

We'll draw parallels between the capacity of Generative AI to process information concurrently and the parallel computing systems that underpin its operation, mirroring the complexity of the human brain.

Through real-world examples, we'll showcase how AI-generated content enriches AR/VR experiences, facilitating a dynamic interplay between the digital and physical worlds, thus expanding the limits of human perception.

Furthermore, we will probe the cognitive aspects of this convergence. We'll explore how Generative AI, guided by parallel computing, can emulate human-like creativity, generate personalized content, and enhance our interactions with AR applications, thereby deepening our engagement with the world around us.

Throughout the presentation, we'll contemplate the ethical, societal, and transformative ramifications of this convergence and reshapes fields ranging from art and entertainment to education and industry, ultimately offering us new insights into the essence of human creativity and perception.

Bio: Jasmine Roberts is a computer scientist and researcher with an academic background in both electrical engineering and design which allows her to navigate seamlessly across the intricacies of the technology landscape. She has held roles at Intel, Sony PlayStation, Google, and Microsoft. In 2020, Forbes recognized her in the "30 under 30" list for her work in implementing cloud computing in gaming. Jasmine's main area of expertise is AR/VR, where she has contributed to AR Core, worked with the PlayStation VR teams, and has been at the forefront of exploring the intersection of generative AI and immersive technologies.

Associate Professor and Director, Interactive Media & Game Development, Worcester Polytechnic Institute 

Talk: Against Human-Centered AI: Regrounding AI as a Medium for Creative Communities

Who is human in human-centered AI? As a call for social responsibility in the community, human-centering carries an immense hidden curriculum. A focus on the individual clearly plays out across common research agendas: personalized content generation, experience management, authorial leverage, player modeling, agent design. I argue that this is an artifact of a centering of individualism in the dominant ways of thinking that are ingrained in computer science, through the discipline’s focus on formalism, hierarchy, generality, modularity, and technological neutrality. In this talk, I will unpack how these unspoken norms and values of the discipline have informed the ways we imagine AI in interactive entertainment. Through a reflection on recent projects that span collaborative livecoding, generative design for quilting, and liberatory pedagogy, I propose that we shift our approach to connecting with humanity in AIIDE: from individual to community, from atomistic to holistic, from tool to medium. We can begin by dropping the “human”. 

Bio: Gillian Smith is an associate professor and director of Interactive Media & Game Development at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Her research and creative practice focuses on generative AI for games, crafts, and pedagogy; creative coding and generative art; and feminist design and technology. She is an award-winning game designer for her alternate controller game, Threadsteading, which is played on quilting and embroidery machines. Dr. Smith is also a researcher-practitioner in ungrading, especially as it connects with project-based learning, with a focus on student goal-setting, metacognition, and self-evaluation. Her teaching blends arts, design, and computational concepts and methods; she regularly teaches AI for Interactive Media and Games, Novel Interface Design, Computational Approaches to Design, and Ethics of Generative AI. In addition to teaching, she has also advised over 30 undergraduate student research/creative projects in interactive media and game development.  Dr. Smith has long been a member of the AIIDE community, chairing the conference in 2019 and serving as program chair in 2018, and is currently co-General Chair for Foundations of Digital Games 2024.

Senior Director, Artificial Intelligence - Zynga Inc. 

Talk: I, Robot - Building Success in the Era of GenAI

Over the past year or so, AI has exploded from an academic and relatively niche discipline into a mainstream phenomenon that's covered constantly in news and advertising. That shift has sent shockwaves throughout industry - some justified, a lot more driven by hype and overblown promises. In this session, join Luke Dicken to explore navigating this new landscape in an intentional, ethical and people-first manner to cut through the hype and build AI systems that are set up for success. 

Bio: Dr. Luke Dicken has been thinking about AI and Games for almost two decades now. He is currently Senior Director of Artificial Intelligence for Zynga Inc where he leads a team driving innovation and adoption of new technologies at the intersection of AI, Analytics, Game Development and Computational Creativity. Luke lives in Napa California with his two puppies Jaina and Malfurion, where he is cultivating a newfound appreciation for the mythical “work/life balance” after serving over ten years in various capacities within the International Game Developers Association alongside his day job. He was named as one of Develop magazine’s “30 Under 30” for 2013, and was listed as the #1 most influential person in Game Analytics in 2018, but hasn’t found a casual way to work either of these into a bio.