San Diego Union Tribune

Computer scientists are quickly developing new technology involving sensors, applications, and wearable devices to monitor and interact with people. In an interview, Rajesh Gupta, chair of the University of California, San Diego's (UCSD) department of computer science and engineering, discussed the progress being made in machine learning and artificial intelligence. "Your smartphone knows who you are, where you are, where you've been, and a lot about what you're doing," Gupta says. In addition, he says computers are beginning to elicit emotional responses from users. For example, UCSD researcher Javier Movellan is combining information from voice, images, skin, and device-usage patterns to determine users' moods. However, despite all of these advances, Gupta says operating systems will have to behave more like people if they are going to be widely accepted and used. "That means scientists will have to improve the computer's ability to synthesize verbal and nonverbal emotional cues, like a person's laughter or a shrug, or their posture," he notes. To read further, please visit http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/13/tp-computers-slowly-getting-in-touch-with-our/.