Warren Sack's SimSocrates: Artificial Participation in Online Conversations
Warren Sack, a media theorist and software designer pursuing a PhD at the MIT Media Laboratory, is working on SimSocrates, a program that acts as an 'artificial participant' by generating questions during online discussions. His research focuses on the intersection of social technologies and automation, drawing inspiration from ELIZA (1966). Sack earned a BA in computer science and psychology from Yale, where he created educational software. He also studied philosophy and AI at the University of Paris VIII and helped organize a cultural studies group in Santa Cruz. Between 1992 and 1994 at MIT, he developed tools for digital video editing and narrative analysis. He is affiliated with the Machine Understanding Group and the Interrogative Design Group. Joseph Dumit conducted an interview exploring these technologies and their influence on dialogue.
Key facts
- Warren Sack is developing SimSocrates, a software that generates questions to act as an artificial participant in online conversations.
- Sack is a media theorist and software designer completing a PhD at the MIT Media Laboratory.
- He categorizes ELIZA (1966) as performance art, similar to improvisational actors, ethnomethodologists, or Socrates.
- Sack holds a BA in computer science and psychology from Yale University and worked in the AI Lab there for three years.
- He designed a computational environment for kindergarten counting and simple calculations using a touchscreen and PC.
- He studied philosophy and AI at the University of Paris VIII for one year.
- From 1992 to 1994 at the MIT Media Lab, he developed two systems for automatic digital video editing.
- Sack is a member of the Machine Understanding Group and the Interrogative Design Group at the MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies.
Entities
Artists
- Warren Sack
- Joseph Dumit
- Socrates
Institutions
- MIT Media Laboratory
- Yale University
- University of Paris VIII
- MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies
- artpress.com
Locations
- Santa Cruz
- California
- United States
Sources
- artpress —