Computer scientist, entrepreneur and researcher Rana el Kaliouby was the keynote speaker at this year's technology fair.
She gave her talk remotely via Zoom. Photo by David J. Hawkins.
"Computer scientist and facial expression recognition researcher Rana el Kaliouby hoped to answer this question at the eighth annual Technology Fair at California State University, Northridge on May 1. CSUN hosts the technology fair to help familiarize faculty and staff with new technology trends in higher education.
“These devices have very high IQs, but technology is still missing the emotional component,” el Kaliouby said. “Getting devices to have emotional intelligence could be particularly useful in education.”
Using artificial intelligence (AI) in education could benefit students because the software could be adapted to each student’s needs, el Kaliouby said.
The event, organized by CSUN’s Division of Information Technology, featured el Kaliouby’s talk remotely — a first in Tech Fair history — using Zoom, CSUN’s video conference platform.
During the presentation, el Kaliouby asked for an audience volunteer to use the emotion AI AffdexMe app that she developed at the MIT Media Lab and now uses in her Affectiva company to recognize human emotions based on facial cues or physiological responses. She initially developed this technology in her research on mental health and autism, and its uses have expanded over time to capture student engagement during class and emotional responses to events such as political debates, movies and other forms of media."
Read more about this year's Tech Fair at CSUN Today.