Perceptual Intelligence at the Spanish Senate, 1998

Spanish Senate, Special Commission on Computer Networks, Madrid, December 22, 1998

In December 1998, I appeared before the Spanish Senate's Special Commission on Computer Networks to discuss research at the MIT Media Lab and some of the questions the Internet was beginning to raise for society. My presentation, Inteligencia Perceptual, connected our work on computer vision and wearable computing with a broader goal: designing technology that could perceive people, respond to context, and support more natural forms of interaction.

The session took place in a new multimedia room. Its computer and network failed shortly before the hearing, prompting the commission's president to note the timing with some humor. Once the system was running, I used slides and videos to explain the Media Lab's research model and several projects from our group.

The research I presented

I described perceptual intelligence as an effort to give computers information about who was present, what they were doing, and the context around them. Rather than requiring every interaction to begin with an explicit command, the systems used cameras and other sensors to interpret a defined set of human actions.

The examples moved from environments equipped with sensors to computers worn on the body. They included DyPERS, which associated physical objects with recorded audio and video; the Wearable American Sign Language Recognition System; and the international Beauty and the Bits Smart Clothes Fashion Show. These demonstrations made the ideas visible, but they were research prototypes rather than finished consumer products.

For DyPERS, I showed a museum scenario in which reproductions of paintings were associated with recorded explanations from a guide. The wearable system recognized the work being viewed and replayed the corresponding video. I used the example to contrast a fixed audio tour with an experience that could respond to what each visitor chose to see.

I also described the sign-to-speech path of WearASL: a camera in a baseball cap observed the wearer's hands, a computer interpreted a defined set of gestures, and speakers produced synthesized speech. A musical denim jacket provided another example of integrating computing into clothing. Conductive embroidery formed a keyboard connected to a small computer and synthesizer.

Questions beyond the prototypes

The testimony was not only a presentation of research systems. The subsequent discussion covered Internet access, education, privacy, virtual communities, children's use of networked technology, and the gap between people who could participate in the emerging information society and those who could not.

Many of the technologies discussed in 1998 have changed considerably. The underlying questions remain familiar: who benefits from a new system, what information it collects, how it should adapt to people, and what institutions must do to make access meaningful rather than merely technical.

The appearance took place while I was developing the research that became my doctoral thesis, Towards Perceptual Intelligence. The Senate presentation offers a contemporary view of how I connected that technical work with its possible uses and limitations.

Official proceedings

The complete proceedings are in Spanish and include the presentation, questions from senators, and my responses:

Read the official Senate proceedings (PDF)

Session: Diario de Sesiones del Senado, VI Legislatura, Comisiones, number 384
Date: December 22, 1998
Proceeding: 715/000265
Commission: Comisión Especial sobre Redes Informáticas