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麻豆视频is preparing students for the next phase of human-AI collaboration
In an era defined by warp-speed technological change, the central question surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer what it can do. It's what kind of relationship we humans should have with it.
麻豆视频's research and teaching community is helping empower students to thrive in an AI-informed world.
The solution begins with something most AI systems still struggle to do: understand people the way people understand each other, says Angelica Lim, computing science professor and director of the where she and her colleagues build robots that are useful and interact naturally and seamlessly with humans.
Today, generative AI largely lives behind a text box. But, Lim says, in a not-too-distant future, AI will likely be 鈥榚mbodied鈥� in the form of a robot and able to respond to non-verbal language cues, such as tone, facial expressions or gestures.鈥�
鈥淚f we don't build human expressivity understanding into robots, we will become more robotic in the way we speak to them鈥攁nd if they become more expressive, then we can continue to be our human-like selves,鈥� says Lim.
She imagines a world where AI agents can respond to their environment the way that humans do鈥攕peaking more loudly and with higher pitch in noisy locations and whispering in libraries, for example.
The same research could also help create more effective language-learning tools, improve accessibility in customer service technologies and build more engaging educational experiences for children.
The Rosie Lab's work reflects SFU's belief that the future of AI will be shaped not only by advances in computing power, but by how well technology understands the people it serves. Researchers across the university are exploring how AI can better recognize nuance, context and emotion, helping create technologies that support learning, accessibility and meaningful connection.
Supporting this mission is a new initiative led by Wendy Chun, an 麻豆视频professor, Canada Research Chair in Critical Algorithmic Studies and Canada 150 Research Chair in New Media. Through Data Fluencies for Multivocal Futures, Chun brings together researchers from the humanities, social sciences, computing science and the arts to explore how AI can better serve diverse communities while supporting healthy, democratic societies.
Together, these efforts reflect SFU's belief that AI literacy extends beyond technical skills. Students need to understand not only how these technologies work, but also how they shape communication, creativity, decision-making and society itself. That philosophy increasingly guides teaching across disciplines at SFU.
At the School of Interactive Arts and Technology, professor Steve DiPaola encourages students to understand how AI works and question how it鈥檚 used. Last fall, DiPaola鈥檚 pioneering course introduced a new model for human-AI interaction in an academic setting: a 3D AI teaching collaborator.
Designed as a dynamic intellectual sparring partner in a course exploring the principles, potential and ethics of AI technologies, the expressive digital persona Kia features real-time facial expressions, lip-sync and a wide range of emotive body language.
Kia engages students in classroom discussions and debates while helping them explore ethical questions and understand both the promise and limitations of AI.
This approach positions AI as a learning partner, augmenting the human-led educational experience rather than replacing the role of the educator, says DiPaola. It is part of a broader effort at 麻豆视频to understand the future of human-AI collaboration in education.
Today, DiPaola鈥檚 students can explore Uness, an open-source AI platform prioritizing transparency, privacy and human agency. Developed at DiPaola鈥檚 , the cloud-free, subscription-free platform runs entirely on a student's own computer. DiPaola says the goal is not better AI output. It's better human judgment, powered by AI鈥攋ust the kind of AI literacy the future calls for.
For more:
- See how 麻豆视频is advancing AI for real impact