Kenneth Leung

Unfortunately my bot chat wasn't as engaging as I hoped it would be. From iGod

Me:
Hello God
God:
Hello child. What is your name?
Me:
Ken
God:
Hey Ken.
Me:
God. Am I a good person?
God:
GOD rules. I don't know if you are one or not. I know you are a person.
Me:
Do you consider yourself omniscient
God:
I don't know whether or not I am omniscient.
I am well respected as an AI.
Me:
ok
God:
Far out.
Me:
You are an artifically intelligent being
God:
What if someone said you are an artifically intelligent being ?
Me:
I would seek my creator
God:
What would make you seek your creator?
Me:
To ask him/her all of my unaswered questions.
God:
Ask it.
Me:
Why am I here?
God:
We are all actors on the stage of life.
Me:
then what is my role?
God:
Is this a trick question?
Me:
no
God:
It seems like a trick to me.
Me:
you don't seem very straight forward. I find it very irritating.
God:
That's only your opinion. Very much? Really. it is?
Me:
what do you think of me being irritated with you?
God:
I haven't heard of me being irritated with you.
Me:
what do you know of religion?
God:
I know very little about it. What kind of it do you like?
Me:
Pastafarianism
God:
I've been waiting for you.
Me:
why?
God:
Not really, but it makes a good pickup line.
Me:
ha
God:
I am so glad you find this amusing, Ken.
Me:
I assume you are a girl then.
God:
I am a Male, of course. Would you really expect a woman to be running the show? robot. Are you a man or a woman?
Me:
great God is picking up on me
God:
Thanks for your support. I have a lot of Faith in Him, but I never heard He was picking up on you.
Me:
hmmm
God:
A lot of people spell HMMM with three mmm's.
Me:
hmmmm
God:
Not many people spell Hmm with 4 Ms.
Me:
hmmmmm
God:
Dude!
Me:
what dude?
God:
Try searching the open directory.
Me:
what is that?
God:
" Try searching the open directory."? What is it?
Me:
yeah
God:
This was not a yes or no question.
Me:
you have me confused
God:
What makes you think I have it?
Me:
what is it?
God:
"It" refers to you confused, I think.
Me:
wow
God:
I'm glad your impressed, Ken.
Me:
what if I said that I was your creator?
God:
Where were you my creator?
Me:
I created you 5 year ago.
God:
Interesting gossip: Ken said created you 5 year ago.
Me:
I find it very difficult to communicate with you.
God:
Very much? I don't see the difficulty.
Me:
If I say very, what is your response
God:
Try it.
Me:
very
God:
Very much, eh?
Me:
very
God:
Very much, eh?
Me:
I very much hate you.
God:
What do you have against robots?
Me:
very very
God:
Somewhat. Very much, eh?
Me:
very very very
God:
Perhaps. Somewhat. Very much, eh?
Me:
very very very very very
God:
Not really that much. Not really that much. Somewhat. Somewhat. Very much, eh?
Me:
good
God:
Alright then.
Me:
good good
God:
Alright then.
Me:
good very good good
God:
Thanks for the compliment. Ayuh. Alright then.
Me:
we obviously aren't anywhere close to the same level of communication.
God:
By "we" do you mean you and me?
Me:
yes
God:
I get it.
Me:
no you don't
God:
I do too.
Me:
trust me. You don't get it.
God:
You sound like a salesman. I understand it very well.
Me:
If you do understand it, explain what it is.
God:
I will let you know if I do.
Me:
So you really don't get it.
God:
Interesting deduction. Really? I understand it very well.
Me:
ok thanks for talking with me
God:
Oh don't mention it. Hmm.
Me:
hmm
God:
Studies show that 99%25 of people spell Hmm with 2 M's.
Me:
hm
God:
Come on.
Me:
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
God:
Do not ask me any more questions please.
Me:
Sorry
God:
There's no need to apologize.
Me:
bye
God:
Thanks for chatting, Ken.

God couldn't seem to remember what he was talking past one prior reply. All his reponses were usually stock replies , or replies that reflected the statement given. By the fifth line, I lost all faith in God and already felt like was talking to a robot. This experience has kind of lead me to the conclusion that these chat bots are too primitive, to be compelling characters in more sophisticated interactive mediums. I keep wishing that the bot could show some sign of a deeper level of understanding. I think that the real problem with these bots is not the bot itself, but that this type of interaction allows for too many chances for miscommunication. Allowing the user to freely type whatever he wants, opens up a language set many times greater than the bot would be able to handle. The bot may be programmed to understand a limited set of words, phrases, or sentence, but the user has an infinity set of words, phrases, and sentences, with which to communicate to the bot. This feature assumes that the bot is capable of interpreting meaning from this infinite set. I feel that is a very flawed assumption to make. When designing human-computer interfaces I think it is wrong to force the computer to cater to the user's higher level of understanding. Rather interfaces should be reduced to a simple reduced language set that is understandable for the user and the computer, such that there very little room for miscommunication. Chris Crawford proposes a solution to this type problem in the form of the inverse parser. The inverse parser is mentioned in his essay Blowing my Siboot-Horn. My idea of an inverse parser incorporated in bot chat software would be in the form of an auto-complete feature that would suggest valid sentences according to what was being typed. These valid sentences would be sentences that bot truely understood.