AI and Gamification Technologies for Complex Work: Simulation and Training

The medium through which training in the workplace is delivered has been changing in recent years to offer a more personalized and immersive experience. The invention of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) platforms has created opportunities to take a more hands-on approach to familiarizing oneself with a task or environment with mitigated time and monetary commitments. Written assessments are being swiftly replaced with more interactive and scientifically validated training simulations and this essential technology is in high demand in the government and private sectors. This book highlights many of the ways simulation-based training can be leveraged to create personalized training curricula for those in high-risk careers and how it can be assessed successfully.

AI and Gamification Technologies for Complex Work uncovers the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for the purposes of creating adaptive, personalized training for individuals who work in complex jobs. It covers adaptive simulation-based training, fighting skill decay through game-based training, and additional uses of AI/ML and other tools in measuring human performance. Insights from professionals and experts in the fields of simulation and training provide readers with information about current applications of AI/ML in creating adaptive or personalized training, as well as investigations into the future of simulation and game-based training, as virtual and augmented realities proliferate modern training programs.

The book looks at how data science, AI, and ML contribute to adaptive training systems and the reader is encouraged to look further into the engines that drive adaptive training while devising their own systems for training in complex jobs. This book is ideal for professionals in human factors engineering and psychology, artificial intelligence, military training and simulation, game development, data science, modeling and simulation and industrial and organizational psychology.

Phillip M. Mangos, Ph.D., is CEO and Chief Scientist of Adaptive Immersion Technologies, a Florida-based business focused on the synthesis of predictive data modeling and analytics, simulation, and assessment technology to optimize human performance. He holds a B.S. in Psychology from the University of South Florida and a PhD in Industrial/Organizational and Human Factors from Wright State University. With a diverse career background, he has worked as a team member to support projects in aviation, law enforcement, transportation, intelligence, information technology, and utilities industries. James C. Ferraro is a Human Factors Research Scientist with Adaptive Immersion Technologies in Florida. He designs and develops performance assessment material for the training and selection of individuals operating in complex environments and automated systems. With a B.S. in Southern Connecticut State University and an MA and PhD from the University of Central Florida, James’s primary research interests are in function allocation in human-machine systems and factors influencing human-computer interaction (e.g., trust).

Dr. Ferraro is a human factors research scientist specializing in intelligent simulations and game-based assessment of human performance in complex systems. He received his Ph.D. in Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology and his M.A. in Applied Experimental and Human Factors Psychology from the University of Central Florida. Dr. Ferraro has led and contributed to a number of research efforts in support of government-sponsored projects to improve training of personnel in various occupations applying AI and highly automated systems. Areas include air traffic control, tactical urban warfare, and unmanned aircraft operations. His research on topics such as pilot/operator attentional strategies, trust in automated systems, and predictors of individual performance has been presented at local, regional, and international conferences. He is an editor of the two-volume book series Human Factors in Simulation and Training (2022), the technical editor of the two-volume book series Human Performance in Automated and Autonomous Systems (2019), and has co-authored several published research papers and book chapters on topics related to human-automation interaction. Dr. Ferraro is currently a Senior Research Scientist with Adaptive Immersion Technologies, based in Tampa, Florida.