eXtended Reality e Intelligent Agents (XR&IA)

This year, the 27th edition of the European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI) – one of the most prestigious events in the field of artificial intelligence research – was held in Santiago de Compostela. The conference, which was attended by internationally renowned researchers, professionals and academics, provides an important opportunity to discuss the challenges and innovations in this constantly evolving field.

The first edition of the eXtended Reality and Intelligent Agents (XR&IA) workshop took place during the ECAI 2024 conference. This workshop provided an important opportunity to explore the interaction between eXtended Reality (XR, which encompasses virtual, augmented and mixed reality) and intelligent agents, an emerging and interdisciplinary field that opens up new possibilities for simulations, training, entertainment and other sectors. The workshop was coordinated by a group of experts, including Professor Daniela Briola, a researcher at the Department of Computer Science, Systems and Communication (DISCo) at the University of Milan-Bicocca, who has been working for many years on AI and, in particular, on multi-agent systems (MAS) and knowledge management (ontologies) in MAS, and more recently on software engineering and virtual and augmented reality.

In a world that is witnessing the advent of the Metaverse, the expansion of the video games industry, and the growing success of virtual and augmented reality in research, training and rehabilitation, it is clear that the non-physical reality in which people can meet, play and learn is becoming increasingly important and increasingly common. At the heart of this transformation lies the need for virtual humans – that is, system-animated characters – who interact with avatars in a believable way, thereby enhancing the user experience. To be believable, these virtual characters must be autonomous, responsive and social, and display intelligent behaviour; they should be intelligent software agents.

Against this backdrop, the aim of the workshop – now in its first edition – was to bring together researchers, engineers and professionals interested in exploring the role of intelligent agents in eXtended Reality, welcoming contributions that propose architectures, methodologies and tools for integrating intelligent agents and XR systems.

The XR&IA workshop is in line with the objectives of the ReGAInS project, which aims to bridge the gap between Artificial Intelligence and society and make AI more inclusive, ethical and sustainable. The integration of intelligent agents into XR environments offers the opportunity to create accessible and personalised experiences, whilst respecting the values and needs of society and the individual. Furthermore, the development of credible and responsible virtual agents represents an important step towards human-centred technological innovation, in line with the ReGAInS vision.