Understanding human-like technology

About the Project

The exact replication of human performance, appearance, and behaviour through artificial systems has long inspired writers, psychologists, and scientists. From the ancient myth of Pygmalion’s statue to the work of Heider and Simmel on perceived animacy, and through Alan Turing’s famous postulates and test, countless thinkers have questioned the possibility and implications of human-like artificial systems.

Today, technology is closer than ever to faithfully replicating aspects of humanity. Advances in AI and computer graphics allow for unprecedented multimodal simulations of human characteristics. AI voices can mimic human speech, VR avatars are approaching photorealistic quality, and large language models can replicate conversation with remarkable effectiveness.

Although less explored, preliminary evidence from our research group also indicates the potential for realistic, human-like physical interaction.

We seek a motivated PhD student to help us understand and create human-like systems, with the ultimate theoretical goal of uncovering the common principles underlying them and shedding light on the core factors that allow an entirely artificial system to be perceived—or not perceived—as human-like.

The project will involve reviewing and evaluating existing artificial systems as well as developing new systems (primarily haptic) capable of mimicking human interactions. Particular emphasis will be placed on audio and haptic/physical modalities. Both have privileged pathways to emotional engagement, yet they occupy opposite ends of the technology-readiness spectrum: the former already achieving near human-level fidelity in certain contexts, and the latter still in its early stages with respect to human-likeness.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in computer science, machine learning, or robotics, and a curious mind open to multidisciplinary research. Experience with user studies and Human–Computer Interaction or Human–Robot Interaction is highly recommended.