A Human-Computer Dialogue System for Educational Debate: A Computational Dialectics Approach

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Yuan, Tangming | Moore, David | Grierson, Alec

Affiliations: Computer Science Department, University of Akureyri, Sólborg, 600 Akureyri, Iceland. E-mail: yuan@unak.is | Innovation North, Leeds Metropolitan University, Beckett Park, Leeds LS6 3QS, UK. E-mail: d.moore@leedsmet.ac.uk, a.j.grierson@leedsmet.ac.uk

Abstract: This paper reports research concerning issues involved in adopting a computational dialectics approach to develop a human-computer dialogue system for educational debate. In particular, we propose a dialogue model and a set of computationally usable strategic heuristics to enable the computer to engage its users in debate on a controversial issue. The system operationalising the proposed dialogue model and strategy has been fully implemented. It has also been subject to initial evaluation exercises. The results of the evaluation are essentially favourable. It is anticipated that the work reported in this paper will contribute toward the development of human-computer dialogue in general and of computer-based educational debate in particular, and help to illuminate research issues in the field of dialectics itself.

Keywords: Computational dialectics, educational human-computer debate, dialogue model, computational strategic heuristics

Journal: International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 3-26, 2008