From chatbots to facial recognition, artificial intelligence, also known as AI, plays an increasingly active role in our everyday lives.

Now, students at the University of South Florida are studying behavioral AI and its impact on business with the help of a new lab. 

USF doctoral graduate Dr. Jill Schiefelbein used the school’s resources for the research she conducted before graduating in December. 

“I wanted to study hyper-realistic avatars, which are basically digital clones of somebody,” Schiefelbein said. “My avatar, she is flawless. Me, not so much. And she can speak 28 different languages fluently.” 

Using eye-tracking technology and facial expression sensors, Schiefelbein’s research focuses on how people respond to these clones. 

“What I wanted to do was find out if people can learn from the real me and my avatar or both,” she said. “Can they be engaged with it? Can they trust it?”

Dr. Rob Hammond oversees the new lab as the director of the Center for Marketing and Sales Innovation at the Muma College of Business. 

He said the questions the lab is focused not on the technology itself, but on how humans respond to it. 

“Do we interact with the technology?’ Hammons said. “How does that impact or how do we work with it? How do we humanize the technology?”

Hammond said such access to artificial intelligence gives USF students an edge. 

“Our job is to educate them for the world they will live in. And there’s no question that, you know, this genie is out of the box, right? This will have a significant impact in terms of the way that we live.”

Hammond said they’re just getting started and hopes to expand access to the lab by developing more programs at USF.