"Can't make next week's videoconference with head office? No problem, your computer-generated avatar will stand in for you; having been created in your image it's a shrewd strategist in complete command of the points you wish to make - including your fallback position. While it sounds like it may be a long time coming, research into intelligent agents, software programs also known as 'softbots', is progressing so quickly scientists predict this scenario could be a reality within 10 years. ... Two researchers headed down this path are Professor Ryszard Kowalczyk, of Swinburne University's faculty of Information and Communication Technology, and Professor Jun Han, also of Swinburne University, who heads a contribution to an Australian-European Union consortium developing service-orientated computing systems of the future. ... The project plan is to develop agents to automate the interchange and composition of software and services via the Internet, including software components to coordinate business activities such as supply, distribution and sales."
posted by Marcus Zillman |
4:15 AM
