Special Seminar/Job Talk: Christian Guckelsberger “Intrinsic Motivation: A Game Changer for Computational Creativity”

Christian Guckelsberger is a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence (FCAI) at Aalto University.

Intrinsic Motivation: A Game Changer for Computational Creativity

Christian Guckelsberger
Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence (FCAI) at Aalto University

Thursday, 13 January at 10:30
via Zoom: request the link by email noora.suominenderios@aalto.fi

Abstract: Intrinsic motivation is a central driving force of our everyday behaviour. We are intrinsically motivated whenever we pursue an activity for its own satisfaction rather than a separate outcome – e.g. when playing a game. Intrinsic motivations such as curiosity are widely acknowledged to play a central role in human and animal cognitive development, learning, and well-being. Unsurprisingly, AI researchers have set out to formalise intrinsic motivation in computational models. In this talk, I argue that such models are essential to advancing Computational Creativity: the engineering of artificial systems that are creative in their own right and in interaction with people. I support this claim and its potential impact further by employing Coupled Empowerment Maximisation, a specific motivational model developed in my research, in videogames as a creative domain. Based on simulation experiments, I demonstrate that Coupled Empowerment Maximisation can drive more adaptive and believable non-player characters that either support or challenge players in open-ended and surprising ways without any knowledge about the game. The talk concludes with my research agenda on advancing Computational Creativity through models of intrinsic motivation to make a profound impact on creative practice as well as AI, Human-Computer Interaction and Cognitive Science.

Bio: Christian Guckelsberger is a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence (FCAI) at Aalto University. He moreover holds visiting researcher appointments with the Institute of Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) at the University of Helsinki, and the Game AI Group at Queen Mary, University of London, where he has completed his PhD on “Intrinsic Motivation in Computational Creativity With Applications to Videogame AI”. Informed by his degrees in Computer Science and Art History, he employs models of intrinsic motivation to engineer artificial systems that are creative in their own right and in interaction with people. In interdisciplinary, theoretical work and applied studies in Videogame AI and Design, he demonstrates that such models can enable more general and adaptive creative systems capable of augmenting and complementing human creativity. Christian has pioneered the development of social intrinsic motivation models and was first to leverage intrinsic motivation for human experience modelling. He regularly engages in international academic and industry collaborations and has won several best paper awards.