{"682644":{"#nid":"682644","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Designing the Future of Teamwork: Human-AI Collaboration Takes Center Stage in New Competition","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn a world rapidly embracing artificial intelligence, researchers are turning their attention to a critical question: How can AI agents become not just tools, but true teammates? \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chrismaclellan.com\/\u0022\u003EChristopher MacLellan\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ic.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Interactive Computing\u003C\/a\u003E and faculty member of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/ipat\u0022\u003EInstitute for People and Technology\u003C\/a\u003E, and his team are tackling this challenge head-on through a groundbreaking initiative that blends research, competition, and collaboration.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the heart of their work is a unique \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cog2025.inesc-id.pt\/dice-adventure-human-ai-teaming-competition\/\u0022\u003Ehuman-AI teaming tournament competition\u003C\/a\u003E \u2014 believed to be the first of its kind \u2014 designed to explore how people and AI agents can work together effectively. Unlike traditional AI competitions that pit agents against one another, this event emphasizes cooperation. Participants design AI agents that can collaborate with humans or other agents to achieve shared goals in a team tournament setting.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re interested in using cooperative games as a tool to understand how people and agents can team together more effectively,\u201d MacLellan explains. \u201cThis competition is a step toward designing AI that doesn\u2019t just follow commands, but anticipates needs and acts as a true partner.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/strong-tact.github.io\/\u0022\u003Ecompetition\u003C\/a\u003E, now in its second year and hosted in conjunction with the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cog2025.inesc-id.pt\/\u0022\u003EIEEE Conference on Games\u003C\/a\u003E, invites participants to submit their own AI agents or join as human players teaming up with others\u2019 agents. With up to $1,000 in cash prizes sponsored by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ieee.org\/\u0022\u003EIEEE\u003C\/a\u003E, the August event offers both a fun and meaningful way to contribute to the future of AI development.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team\u2019s research paper about the game, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/3723498.3723793\u0022\u003EDice Adventure: An Asymmetrical Collaborative Game for Exploring the Hybrid Teaming Effects\u003C\/a\u003E, won the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/fdg2025.org\/BestPaperAwards.html\u0022\u003Ebest paper award\u003C\/a\u003E at this year\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/fdg2025.org\/index.html\u0022\u003EInternational Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games\u003C\/a\u003E. Georgia Tech Interactive Computing Ph.D. students \u003Cstrong\u003EQiao Zhang\u003C\/strong\u003E, organized the competition and was the lead author of the paper, along with \u003Cstrong\u003EGlen Smith\u003C\/strong\u003E, co-author.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore than just a contest, the initiative reflects a broader vision. As MacLellan puts it, \u201cSociety is moving toward a future where humans and agents work seamlessly together. We want to design for the best possible futures \u2014 where AI agents know how to team back with people.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis vision challenges the conventional view of AI as mere tools. Instead, it promotes a paradigm where agents are proactive collaborators \u2014 anticipating needs, adapting to human behavior, and contributing meaningfully to shared objectives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor those interested in participating in the upcoming tournament competition or learning more, details including dates and registration information are available on the competition\u2019s official webpage: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/strong-tact.github.io\/\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/strong-tact.github.io\u003C\/a\u003E. The competition is taking place online during June and July and the results will be presented at the IEEE 2025 Conference on Games, Aug 26-29.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs AI continues to evolve, efforts like this competition are paving the way for a future where humans and machines don\u2019t just coexist \u2014 they thrive together as teammates.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout the Research\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EThis research was supported by the Army Research Lab STRONG program awards W911NF2120126, W911NF2120101, W911NF2320203.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECitation:\u003C\/strong\u003E Zhang, Q., Smith, G., Ziyu, L., Dong, Y., Harpstead, E. \u0026amp; MacLellan, C.J. (2025). Dice Adventure: An Asymmetrical Collaborative Game for Exploring the Hybrid Teaming Effects. In \u003Cem\u003EProceedings of the 19th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games\u003C\/em\u003E. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/3723498.3723793.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn a world rapidly embracing artificial intelligence, researchers are turning their attention to a critical question: How can AI agents become not just tools, but true teammates?\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"In a world rapidly embracing artificial intelligence, researchers are turning their attention to a critical question: How can AI agents become not just tools, but true teammates?"}],"uid":"27513","created_gmt":"2025-06-04 14:07:53","changed_gmt":"2025-06-10 18:42:19","author":"Walter Rich","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-06-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-06-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677177":{"id":"677177","type":"image","title":"MacLellan - AI Agents","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPictured: Interactive PhD students \u003Cstrong\u003EGlen Smith\u003C\/strong\u003E (left) and \u003Cstrong\u003EQiao Zhang\u003C\/strong\u003E (right) working with Assistant Professor \u003Cstrong\u003EChristopher MacLellan\u003C\/strong\u003E (middle) on the Dice Adventure game.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1749045411","gmt_created":"2025-06-04 13:56:51","changed":"1749045878","gmt_changed":"2025-06-04 14:04:38","alt":"Pictured: Interactive PhD students Glen Smith (far left) and Qiao Zhang (far right) working with Assistant Professor Christopher MacLellan on the Dice Adventure game. ","file":{"fid":"261048","name":"screen_951.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/06\/04\/screen_951.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/06\/04\/screen_951.png","mime":"image\/png","size":13155522,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/06\/04\/screen_951.png?itok=ip15C-GD"}}},"media_ids":["677177"],"groups":[{"id":"69599","name":"IPaT"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"188084","name":"go-ipat"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto: walter.rich@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["walter.rich@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}