Sagar talks artificial intelligence innovation

Associate Professor Mark Sagar is the keynote speaker at one of the PwC Herald Talks in July. Photo / Dean Purcell

As part of the PwC Herald Talks series beginning next month, Associate Professor Mark Sagar from Auckland University will be discussing his work integrating real-time computer graphics, computer vision and audition, developmental and cognitive science into biologically based artificially intelligent systems to create lifelike interactive models of the human face.

Having completed an engineering Ph.D., at the University of Auckland, working on an eye surgery simulator, Sagar began work creating facial technology. After a Post-Doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hollywood came knocking.

"We were doing pioneering studies at that time creating digital faces and models and so the start up I was working for decided to move to Hollywood to build these faces and models of digital actors for films," Sagar said.

Upon returning to New Zealand in 2004, Sagar took up a role with Weta Digital in Wellington.

While there, his work was credited with capturing subtler emotions in the faces of digital characters for some of the movies he worked on - including King Kong and Avatar - work that also earned him two consecutive Oscars at the 2010 and 2011 Sci-tech awards which recognise success in movie science and technological achievements.

Having spent seven years at Weta Digital however, Sagar said he wanted a change.

"I got to the point where I thought I really wanted to combine all of the interests that I had: the face, the mind, biologically based modelling, computer graphics and artificial intelligence," Sagar said.

"I wanted to bring technology to life, creating interactive computational models capable of expressing emotions and recognising facial expressions, and that could learn from experience through social interaction."

Sagar has since set up the Laboratory for Animate Technologies at Auckland University where he is working on autonomously animated systems, to explore embodied cognition and effect, and building systems for facial expressions in machines and improving interactions.

"To date, facial expression and facial interaction has been basically ignored from human computer interaction - it's a missing piece," Sagar said.

"So if you think about things like Siri, it's using voice recognition but think about the full richness of face to face human interaction that hasn't been touched upon. So we're trying to fill that gap in a way," he said.

His work at the lab is currently investigating whether it is possible to build machines capable of learning like a person, as well as creating systems with more emotional capabilities. One of the end goals is in using these systems to model human behaviours.

"Ultimately it's to explore how we tick - it's a tool to investigate models of core aspects of human nature and that's what really drives me with this," Sagar said. "Will it ever be possible to create a model of consciousness? - I don't know, but it's something absolutely fascinating we can at least aim towards."

About Herald Talks

NZME has announced the launch of PwC Herald Talks, a new business events series aimed to encourage business thought leaders to come together and share knowledge, insight and strategies, to grow and diversify business in New Zealand.

Four breakfast events will be held from July until December 2015 discussing current trends in innovation, growth, global and changing markets. The carefully selected keynote speakers and panelists across the four events will offer the opportunity for attendees to hear leading business innovators share strategies, challenges, trends and expertise required to excel in today's business environment.

The first event focuses on Innovation and will be held on 1 July.

• Keynote Speaker: Dr Mark Sagar

• SKYCITY Theatre, 7am, Wednesday 1st July

• Tickets $89, includes barista coffee and breakfast

• BUY NOW at iticket.co.nz