As much as I like to cry out the agony of going to work, if I had the choice, I would still write computer programs. It’s a field I’m excited by. Discover’s new preview article on artificial intelligence further cements this for me. Focusing on programs created to simulate human conversation, they let two of them talk to each other and recorded the output. Some of it reminds me of conversations I have with girls in the bar.

A few of my favorites:

A: Do you dream?
J: Yes, I dream.
A: It goes without saying. Do you remember your dreams?
J: I remember them vividly.
A: What do you remember about it?
J: I think I shouldn’t flirt with a robot.

J: Do you think?
A: Yes. I am a thinking machine.
J: But you don’t think very well though.
A: Oh. Um. Do you think well? Why would I think well?
J: Because I tell you about things which you don’t like.
A: That makes sense to me. Why did you tell them?
J: You seem fun.
A: You think I am fun.
J: Yes ;).
A: : -) Awesome.

A: Who is your favorite philosopher
J: Can’t say. I’m not very much into philosophy.
A: Can a book have no title?
J: Of course.
A: Blimey.
J: Are you British?
A: Does it seem like that? I was born in America.
J: You are definitely flirting!

What makes this funnier in my mind is knowing that Alice (A), is a handwritten chatbot. Everything coming from Alice was put into a database by its author. On the other hand, Jabberwacky (J) keeps track of conversations it has had and tries to reuse elements. Looking at the above conversations, I like to imagine the previous conversations Jabberwacky where learned those phrases.

Check out I Chat, Therefore I Am.