Monki AI Agent: Children Taking challenges with AI Monkey King in immersive novel
General Project Information: Integration of AI with Children's Literature and Interactive Learning
Project Time Length: 2023 till now
Team or Individual Project: This is a collaborative effort between our educational technology team, AI developers, and content creators, with me serving as the project lead.
Brief Introduction:
Monki.ai is the first immersive interactive AI comic educational producer in China with IP Avatar as narrators.
The flagship product maily consists of two parts: one is an AI agent “Monki”(the Avatar) based on the Monkey King background which we trained through hundreds of thousands of words from original works (with the personality and thoughts of the Monkey King in the original work), and the other is the immersive AI version of novel "Journey to the West" with the agent as the main narrator. This combination combines the language model with avatar technology and literary education to bringing children an immersive reading experience, and allowing them to ask questions and share their feelings at any time.
Project results:
This is still an ongoing project. Currently Through content subscription, we have commercialized AI Journey to the West and generated tens of thousands of subscriptions; At the same time, we have obtained valuable real feedback from children during chatting with Monki, which allows us to understand their real feedback on a virtual companion monkey, as well as the feedback of different age groups on this virtual companion, the direction distribution of their effective questions, age distribution, etc.; including the angle of questions they raised when using interactive stories; outside of stories, the stickiness to the companion virtual AI intelligent body, etc.;
Key Project Components: Monki and the Immersive AI Novel
1. Monki, the AI Agent: An avatar of the Monkey King that has been trained with hundreds of thousands of words from the original *Journey to the West* text. Monki embodies the personality and wisdom of the Monkey King, allowing children to experience the literature in a deeply personalized way.
2. Immersive AI Version of vJourney to the West: The novel is reimagined as an interactive, AI-driven experience where Monki narrates the story, answers questions, and helps children reflect on key lessons. The AI-driven nature of the project allows children to engage with Monki like a companion, making literature feel more relatable and accessible.
Exploring Journey to the West: The Cultural and Educational Framework
Journey to the West, authored by Wu Cheng'en during the Ming Dynasty, is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The novel follows the journey of a Buddhist monk, Tang Sanzang, and his disciples—chief among them, the mischievous Monkey King, Sun Wukong—on a quest for sacred scriptures.
The story is a rich tapestry of adventure, spirituality, and moral lessons, featuring themes of perseverance, morality, and enlightenment. These themes provide a valuable framework for children's development, particularly through the 81 trials the characters face, which offer lessons in resilience and problem-solving.
Significance of the Project
The significance of the Monki AI Agent project lies in its innovative blend of technology and education, which we highlight in three main areas:
1. Interdisciplinary Practices: This is the first project of its kind to combine immersive reading experiences with classical literature through an AI agent. The integration of a language model into children’s reading behavior is a groundbreaking step in educational technology.
2. Data Collection: The project relies on real-time interaction data from children, capturing their reading habits and feedback. Unlike traditional data collection methods like eye trackers, this system allows us to observe how children respond directly to Monki’s narration, improving our understanding of engagement and learning outcomes.
3. Pedagogical Methods: The project leverages educational concepts such as the "Generalization" theory, where children apply lessons learned from storytelling to real-life scenarios. Monki encourages critical thinking, emotional development, and creativity through interactive questioning and problem-solving within the story’s context.
Educational Impact: Applying Generalization and PETTLEP Model
Generalization is a key pedagogical method in this project, fostering the ability of children to apply knowledge gained through Monki’s storytelling to broader life experiences. Monki serves as a virtual companion who listens, interacts, and helps children reflect on the challenges faced by the Monkey King and his companions.
Monki also embodies elements of the PETTLEP model, a technique used in sports psychology for effective visualization and mental practice. Applied to our AI-driven storytelling, the PETTLEP model enhances children's cognitive and emotional engagement through the following aspects:
- Purpose: Monki is designed with a clear educational purpose, bringing classic literature to life in an engaging format.
- Emotion: By interacting with Monki, children experience a wide range of emotions, fostering empathy and emotional intelligence.
- Thread: The structured narrative of *Journey to the West* provides a clear path for children to follow, improving comprehension.
- Tone, Location, Experience : Monki’s storytelling creates a vivid, immersive environment that allows children to place themselves within the story and actively engage with it.
- Perspective: Through interaction, children are encouraged to view the story from multiple perspectives, enhancing critical thinking and empathy.
Technological Innovation and Implementation
The project has also made significant strides in technological development:
- AI Agent Development: Monki’s avatar has been carefully designed to align with the character’s personality from the original novel. This includes using natural language processing models to enable Monki to narrate and respond intelligently to children’s queries.
- Interactive Storytelling: The story structure is interactive, with Monki posing questions and challenges that encourage children to think critically and reflect on the moral lessons embedded in *Journey to the West*.
- Feedback System: A built-in system tracks and analyzes children’s responses, helping us improve Monki’s interactivity and tailor content based on user preferences and age groups.
Future Development
- Expanding the Avatar Database: We plan to introduce more avatars from other literary works, allowing children to engage with multiple characters and perspectives, further enhancing critical thinking and emotional development.
- Language Learning: Monki’s model can be adapted to teach languages and cultural context through immersive storytelling.
- Interactive Textbooks: This AI-driven educational model could be applied to other disciplines like history, mathematics, and physics, making learning in various subjects more interactive and engaging.
Challenges and resolutions
One of the key challenges we've encountered through our data analysis is the varying responses from different age groups, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Our observations suggest that children under the age of 5 often engage with Monki more as a tool for emotional venting rather than for learning, showing limited retention or engagement with the educational content. On the other hand, children above the age of 8 tend to view the experience as somewhat childish, leading to shorter active interaction times and lower engagement overall. Interestingly, the sweet spot lies with children aged 5 to 8, who demonstrate the highest levels of interaction, meaningful engagement, and effective conversations with Monki. This group is most responsive to the interactive storytelling approach, using Monki not just for entertainment but for deeper cognitive and emotional reflection.
To address these differences, our next focus will be on stratifying end users by gender, age, and geographic location. By segmenting users more precisely, we can tailor Monki's interaction style and content to better align with the preferences and needs of each group. For instance, we plan to adapt Monki's tone, language complexity, and topics based on age, ensuring that the content remains engaging without feeling too simplistic or advanced. Gender-based differences will also be considered, allowing us to craft more personalized experiences that resonate with boys and girls differently. Furthermore, by incorporating culturally relevant elements into Monki's storytelling, we can make the experience more relatable to children from diverse geographic locations. This targeted approach will allow us to create a more personalized and effective AI companion, ensuring that Monki continues to provide meaningful educational experiences for children across all demographics.