Autotelic Interaction Research
Being rewarding in and of themselves, autotelic (gr. autos - self, telos - end/goal) behaviours are key to lifelong cognitive development, underlie many forms of play and creativity, and have been linked to human well-being. We combine computational modelling, theoretical work and empirical Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) studies to understand, reproduce and foster autotelic behaviour. We approach this as an interdisciplinary team, bridging between AI, HCI, and Cognitive Science, as well as various application domains such as Videogames and Design. Our research contributes to the development of more adaptive, creative, playful and open-ended AI; aims to foster richer and more meaningful interaction through insights into human-AI goal alignment; and yields artefacts and methods contributing to peoples’ autotelic activities. Some examples of our research:
- Computational models of intrinsic motivation
- Minimal models of creative cognition
- Methods for next-generation videogame AI
- User studies to support the sustainable adoption of co-creative AI
We are part of the Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence FCAI, the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology HIIT, and the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems ELLIS.
Meet the Group
Alumni
Visitors
- Natalya Weber (Doctoral Resarcher, Okinawa Institute for Science and Technology)
Master Thesis Students
- Vertti Luostarinen (M.A., Art & Media)
- Julius Repo (M.A., Film)
- Veera Vimpari (MSc., CS)
- Inan Evin (MSc., CS)
- Ville Kopio (MSc., CS, Univ. of Helsinki)
- Xuehao Zhang (MSc., CS)
- Susanna Värtinen (MSc., CS)
- Antti Mäkipää (MSc., CS)
Research Assistants
- Niki Pennanen
Come work with us!
We’re always interested in meeting curious, smart and ambitious people to work with. If you would like to do a Research Visit/Postdoc/PhD or your MSc thesis with us, please send an email to Christian with:
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Your study transcript incl. grades and scale;
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CV incl. examples of previous work;
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Short motivation incl. the research questions that excite you most, and how they connect with our work specifically.
Unfortunately, we do not have time to respond to requests that do not include these materials.
We also encourage you to check out Postdoc/PhD positions in our group advertised through the FCAI/HIIT bi-annual calls. If you are still looking for an inspiring MSc thesis topic, please also check out our current MSc topic offerings on the Aalto CS Wiki.
Latest Publications
Not All the Same: Understanding and Informing Similarity Estimation in Tile-Based Video Games
WAVE : Anticipatory Movement Visualization for VR Dancing
Towards Mode Balancing of Generative Models via Diversity Weights
Designing for Playfulness in Human-AI Authoring Tools
Computationally Modelling Self-Determination Theory for HCI: The Case of Competence
Effects of Cognitive Abilities on Success in Computer Use
Image-based and machine learning-guided multiplexed serology test for SARS-CoV-2
Creative collaboration with interactive evolutionary algorithms: a reflective exploratory design study
"An Adapt-or-Die Type of Situation”: Perception, Adoption, and Use of Text-To-Image-Generation AI by Game Industry Professionals
Cine-AI: Generating Video Game Cutscenes in the Style of Human Directors
Related Professors
Samuel Kaski
Jaakko Lehtinen
Janne Lindqvist
Antti Oulasvirta
Robin Welsch
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