William Swartout: A Pioneer in Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer Interaction
William Swartout is a distinguished professional in the field of artificial intelligence, with a career that has spanned over three decades. He currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies (USC ICT), a role that involves directing the institute’s various research programs. In addition to his role at USC ICT, Swartout holds the position of Research Professor in the Computer Science Department at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. He also shares a co-directorship at the Center for Generative AI and Society.
Swartout’s work is grounded in multiple facets of artificial intelligence, encompassing immersive virtual reality, intelligent agents, and natural language generation. Within the broader field of human-computer interaction, his contributions have been particularly significant in the areas of virtual reality and virtual actor technologies. These contributions have also extended to legal expert systems, where he has played a role in knowledge management endeavors.
Over the course of his career, Swartout has garnered several awards and recognitions, emphasizing his contributions to the scientific community. Notably, in 2009 he was awarded the Robert Engelmore Award by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) for his seminal contributions to knowledge-based systems and virtual human technologies. His service to the AI community has also been recognized, and he has been honored as a Fellow of the AAAI. Swartout’s governance roles within professional organizations include tenures on the Board of Councilors of the AAAI and a past chairmanship of the Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence (SIGART), under the auspices of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
Swartout’s academic background is both rigorous and diverse. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), along with a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University. His research interests are varied, covering fields such as virtual humans, natural language processing, knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation, and intelligent computer-based education.
His career has seen him involved in a range of innovative projects. For example, he oversaw the Mission Rehearsal Exercise project, which received an award for its novel application of agent technology. He led the National Science Foundation-funded museum guides project, which introduced virtual humans to the Museum of Science in Boston. Furthermore, Swartout was integral to the New Dimensions in Testimony project, an initiative aimed at preserving the stories of Holocaust survivors in an interactive, conversational format. Most recently, he led the Office of Naval Research-funded Personal Assistant for Lifelong Learning project. He is also actively engaged in establishing the AI Research Center of Excellence for Education, aimed at developing AI applications to prepare the American workforce for future challenges.
In summary, William Swartout has made enduring contributions to the field of artificial intelligence, both in terms of theoretical frameworks and practical applications. His leadership in a multitude of projects, service in academic and professional organizations, and ongoing research interests demonstrate his comprehensive engagement with the field. Through this multi-faceted involvement, he continues to make strides in leveraging artificial intelligence for the benefit of society at large.