Page 129 - Socially Intelligent Agents Creating Relationships with Computers and Robots

112 Socially Intelligent Agents

demonstrations, transmission of positive evaluations and so on. However, if
some are not, then the outcome may be unpredictable, depending on distribution
of satisfied and dissatisfied agents in social networks. Secondly, this approach
involves almost no theoretical terms in the sense already defined. An ordinary
consumer could be asked directly about any of the above behaviours: “Have
you ever seen an EPO demonstrated?” We are thus assured of measurability
right at the outset.
The mention of social networks shows why questions also need to be pre-
sented spatially and temporally. We need to know not just whether the consumer
has exchanged messages, but with whom and when. Do consumers first collect
information and then make a decision or do these tasks in parallel?
The final (and hardest) set of data to obtain concerns the cognitive changes
resulting from various interactions. What effect do conversations, new infor-
mation, observations and evaluations have? Clearly this data is equally hard to
collect in retrospect - when it may not be recalled - or as it happens - when it
may not be recorded. Nonetheless, the problem is with elicitation not with the
nature of the data itself. There is nothing theoretical about the question “What
did you think when you first heard about EPO?”
I hope this discussion shows that MAS are actually very well suited to “data
driven” development because they mirror the “agent based” nature of social
interaction. Paradoxically, the task of calibrating them is easier when architec-
tures are less dependent on categories originating in theory rather than everyday
experience. Nonetheless, a real problem remains. The “data driven” MAS in-
volves data of several different kinds that must be elicited in different ways. Any
single data collection technique is liable not only to gather poor data outside its
competence but also to skew the choice of architecture by misrepresenting the
key features of the social process.

4. Data Collection Techniques

In this section, I shall discuss the appropriate role of a number of data col-
lection techniques for the construction of a “data driven” MAS.
Surveys [7]: For relatively stable factors, surveying the population may be
effective in discovering the distribution of values. Historical surveys can also
be used for exogenous factors (prices of competing products) or to explore rates
of attitude change.
Biographical Interviews [2]: One way of helping with recall is to take
advantage of the fact that people are much better at remembering “temporally
organised” material. Guiding them through the “history” of their own EPO
adoption may be more effective than asking separate survey questions. People
may “construct” coherence that was not actually present at the time and there is
still a limit to recall. Although interviewees should retain general awareness of