A challenge of developing artificial intelligence that can work with and serve societal needs is developing systems that can smoothly communicate with humans. Richard Futrell, UC Irvine language science professor and director of the campus’s Center for Language, Intelligence & Computation, has received a three-year, $200,000 National Science Foundation grant to bridge that gap.

“An aspect of communication that is effortless for humans, but that remains challenging for AI systems, is communication about space - that is, where people and things are and where they are going,” he says. “Simple words like ‘this’ and ‘there’ help speakers point to objects, give directions, and share information. These words are important in every human language, and they are critical to get right for robotic systems that will inhabit human spaces and interact with human users.”

But these words are used in different ways across languages, and scientists don’t fully understand why, he explains. Futrell’s project will quantitatively and experimentally measure how people talk about space using computer models and experiments. His research team will work with speakers of a variety of languages, analyze how people choose words to describe space, and build computer models that explain how this communication works. Findings may also provide innovative educational opportunities that support workforce development for AI and other language technology industries, says Futrell.

Funding for this work under NSF award number 2525735 began in August and runs through July 2028.