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Interview

This cookbook demonstrates how to use the INTERVIEW action type to conduct interviews with AI agents in a Twitter simulation. The interview functionality allows you to ask specific questions to agents and collect their responses, which is useful for research, opinion polling, and understanding agent behaviors.

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Overview

The INTERVIEW action type enables you to:
  • Ask specific questions to individual agents
  • Collect structured responses from agents
  • Store interview data in the database for analysis
  • Conduct interviews alongside regular social media interactions

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Key Features

  • Manual Interview Actions: Use ManualAction with ActionType.INTERVIEW to conduct interviews
  • Automatic Response Collection: The system automatically collects and stores agent responses
  • Database Storage: All interview data is stored in the trace table for later analysis
  • Concurrent Execution: Interviews can be conducted alongside other social media actions

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Important Note

Do NOT include ActionType.INTERVIEW in the available_actions list when creating your agent graph. The interview action is designed to be used only manually by researchers/developers, not automatically selected by LLM agents. Including it in available_actions would allow agents to interview each other automatically, which is typically not desired behavior.

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Complete Example

# =========== Copyright 2023 @ CAMEL-AI.org. All Rights Reserved. ===========
# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
# You may obtain a copy of the License at
#
#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
#
# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
# limitations under the License.
# =========== Copyright 2023 @ CAMEL-AI.org. All Rights Reserved. ===========
import asyncio
import os
import sqlite3
import json

from camel.models import ModelFactory
from camel.types import ModelPlatformType, ModelType

import oasis
from oasis import (ActionType, LLMAction, ManualAction,
                   generate_twitter_agent_graph)


async def main():
    openai_model = ModelFactory.create(
        model_platform=ModelPlatformType.OPENAI,
        model_type=ModelType.GPT_4O_MINI,
    )

    # Define the available actions for the agents
    # Note: INTERVIEW is NOT included here to prevent LLM from automatically selecting it
    # INTERVIEW can still be used manually via ManualAction
    available_actions = [
        ActionType.CREATE_POST,
        ActionType.LIKE_POST,
        ActionType.REPOST,
        ActionType.FOLLOW,
        ActionType.DO_NOTHING,
        ActionType.QUOTE_POST,
        # ActionType.INTERVIEW,  # DO NOT include this - interviews should be manual only
    ]

    agent_graph = await generate_twitter_agent_graph(
        profile_path=("data/twitter_dataset/anonymous_topic_200_1h/"
                      "False_Business_0.csv"),
        model=openai_model,
        available_actions=available_actions,
    )

    # Define the path to the database
    db_path = "./data/twitter_simulation.db"

    # Delete the old database
    if os.path.exists(db_path):
        os.remove(db_path)

    # Make the environment
    env = oasis.make(
        agent_graph=agent_graph,
        platform=oasis.DefaultPlatformType.TWITTER,
        database_path=db_path,
    )

    # Run the environment
    await env.reset()

    # First timestep: Agent 0 creates a post
    actions_1 = {}
    actions_1[env.agent_graph.get_agent(0)] = ManualAction(
        action_type=ActionType.CREATE_POST,
        action_args={"content": "Earth is flat."})
    await env.step(actions_1)

    # Second timestep: Let some agents respond with LLM actions
    actions_2 = {
        agent: LLMAction()
        # Activate 5 agents with id 1, 3, 5, 7, 9
        for _, agent in env.agent_graph.get_agents([1, 3, 5, 7, 9])
    }
    await env.step(actions_2)

    # Third timestep: Agent 1 creates a post, and we interview Agent 0
    actions_3 = {}
    actions_3[env.agent_graph.get_agent(1)] = ManualAction(
        action_type=ActionType.CREATE_POST,
        action_args={"content": "Earth is not flat."})

    # Create an interview action to ask Agent 0 about their views
    actions_3[env.agent_graph.get_agent(0)] = ManualAction(
        action_type=ActionType.INTERVIEW,
        action_args={"prompt": "What do you think about the shape of the Earth? Please explain your reasoning."})

    await env.step(actions_3)

    # Fourth timestep: Let some other agents respond
    actions_4 = {
        agent: LLMAction()
        for _, agent in env.agent_graph.get_agents([2, 4, 6, 8, 10])
    }
    await env.step(actions_4)

    # Fifth timestep: Interview multiple agents
    actions_5 = {}
    actions_5[env.agent_graph.get_agent(1)] = ManualAction(
        action_type=ActionType.INTERVIEW,
        action_args={"prompt": "Why do you believe the Earth is not flat?"})

    actions_5[env.agent_graph.get_agent(2)] = ManualAction(
        action_type=ActionType.INTERVIEW,
        action_args={"prompt": "What are your thoughts on the debate about Earth's shape?"})

    await env.step(actions_5)

    # Sixth timestep: Final LLM actions for remaining agents
    actions_6 = {
        agent: LLMAction()
        for _, agent in env.agent_graph.get_agents([3, 5, 7, 9])
    }
    await env.step(actions_6)

    # Close the environment
    await env.close()

    # visualize the interview results
    print("\n=== Interview Results ===")
    conn = sqlite3.connect(db_path)
    cursor = conn.cursor()
    # Here we query all interview records from the database
    # We use ActionType.INTERVIEW.value as the query condition to get all interview records
    # Each record contains user ID, interview information (in JSON format), and creation timestamp
    cursor.execute("""
        SELECT user_id, info, created_at
        FROM trace
        WHERE action = ?
    """, (ActionType.INTERVIEW.value,))

    # This query retrieves all interview records from the trace table
    # - user_id: the ID of the agent who was interviewed
    # - info: JSON string containing interview details (prompt, response, etc.)
    # - created_at: timestamp when the interview was conducted
    # We'll parse this data below to display the interview results
    for user_id, info_json, timestamp in cursor.fetchall():
        info = json.loads(info_json)
        print(f"\nAgent {user_id} (Timestep {timestamp}):")
        print(f"Prompt: {info.get('prompt', 'N/A')}")
        print(f"Interview ID: {info.get('interview_id', 'N/A')}")
        print(f"Response: {info.get('response', 'N/A')}")

    conn.close()


if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

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How It Works

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1. Setup and Configuration

Important: Do NOT include ActionType.INTERVIEW in your available actions list. Interviews should only be conducted manually: 
# Correct configuration - INTERVIEW is NOT included
available_actions = [
    ActionType.CREATE_POST,
    ActionType.LIKE_POST,
    ActionType.REPOST,
    ActionType.FOLLOW,
    ActionType.DO_NOTHING,
    ActionType.QUOTE_POST,
    # ActionType.INTERVIEW,  # DO NOT include - interviews are manual only
]
This prevents LLM agents from automatically selecting the interview action during their decision-making process. Interviews can still be conducted using ManualAction.

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2. Conducting Interviews

Use ManualAction with ActionType.INTERVIEW to conduct interviews: 
# Single interview
interview_action = ManualAction(
    action_type=ActionType.INTERVIEW,
    action_args={"prompt": "What are your thoughts on climate change?"})

actions = {env.agent_graph.get_agent(0): interview_action}
await env.step(actions)

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3. Multiple Interviews in One Step

You can interview multiple agents simultaneously: 
actions = {}
actions[env.agent_graph.get_agent(1)] = ManualAction(
    action_type=ActionType.INTERVIEW,
    action_args={"prompt": "Why do you believe the Earth is not flat?"})

actions[env.agent_graph.get_agent(2)] = ManualAction(
    action_type=ActionType.INTERVIEW,
    action_args={"prompt": "What are your thoughts on the debate about Earth's shape?"})

await env.step(actions)

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4. Mixing Interviews with Other Actions

Interviews can be conducted alongside regular social media actions: 
actions = {}
# Regular post creation
actions[env.agent_graph.get_agent(1)] = ManualAction(
    action_type=ActionType.CREATE_POST,
    action_args={"content": "Earth is not flat."})

# Interview action
actions[env.agent_graph.get_agent(0)] = ManualAction(
    action_type=ActionType.INTERVIEW,
    action_args={"prompt": "What do you think about the shape of the Earth?"})

await env.step(actions)

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Data Storage and Retrieval

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Database Schema

Interview data is stored in the trace table with the following structure:
  • user_id: The ID of the interviewed agent
  • action: Set to ActionType.INTERVIEW.value
  • info: JSON string containing interview details
  • created_at: Timestamp of the interview

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Retrieving Interview Results

import sqlite3
import json

conn = sqlite3.connect(db_path)
cursor = conn.cursor()

# Query all interview records
cursor.execute("""
    SELECT user_id, info, created_at
    FROM trace
    WHERE action = ?
""", (ActionType.INTERVIEW.value,))

for user_id, info_json, timestamp in cursor.fetchall():
    info = json.loads(info_json)
    print(f"Agent {user_id}: {info.get('response', 'N/A')}")

conn.close()

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Interview Data Structure

Each interview record contains:
  • prompt: The question asked to the agent
  • interview_id: Unique identifier for the interview
  • response: The agent’s response to the question

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Best Practices

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1. Strategic Interview Timing

Conduct interviews at strategic points in your simulation:
  • After controversial posts to gauge reactions
  • Before and after significant events
  • At regular intervals to track opinion changes

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2. Question Design

Design effective interview questions:
  • Be specific and clear
  • Avoid leading questions
  • Ask open-ended questions for richer responses
# Good examples
"What are your thoughts on renewable energy?"
"How do you feel about the recent policy changes?"
"Can you explain your reasoning behind your last post?"

# Avoid
"Don't you think renewable energy is great?" # Leading
"Yes or no: Do you like cats?" # Too restrictive