SFU prof debuts 3D artificial intelligence teaching sidekick

The newest course assistant at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., has zero experience, no academic credentials and has never set foot in a classroom.Nevertheless, Kia, an expressive, 3-D digital persona, will be in attendance as a sidekick to professor Steve DiPaola in his first-year course on the history and ethical challenges of AI.”This class is designed for students with no prior AI experience,” said Kia, speaking with a British accent in an online post introducing the course. “I’ll b