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I remember chatting a few years ago with jabberwacky (which basically is "just" what people have been feeding into it for decades) and being unsettled by how cruel and outright evil it seemed... then I realized, oh, this is how (some) people treat a bot: cruel and condescending.

I see absolutely no point in this... we need to interact with people, not establish a feedback loop and surround our selves with virtual bullshit...

One would think that continually prying for personal experiences would reveal a flaw. Or perhaps simple things like "when were you born?" Followed by "how did you feel when JFK was assassinated?" if they weren't born before 1963.

I liked your idea, so I gave it a shot

I'm in bold, the bot's not.

When were you born?
Early in the morning.
In what year were you born?
I was born in 1984.
How did you feel when JFK was assassinated?
About the war?
Where were you when JFK was assassinated?
The question is where were you?
Where were you when JFK was assassinated?
I wasn't even born. What about you ?

Not bad. Not knowing how the bot operates, I can't guess at how it managed to answer consistently (albeit evasively).

I tried a slightly different approach: asking absurd, self-contradictory questions. That didn't go quite as well.

Is it possible to be completely nude while wearing clothes?
I don't know. Is it possible to be friends with a potato spud?
Is it possible to be completely nude while wearing clothes?
I hope so, because I have no friends.
Is it possible to be completely nude while wearing clothes?
Are you calling me spud or is there such a thing as a 'potato spud?'.
Could Jesus Christ microwave a burrito so hot, that not even he could eat it?
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Could Jesus Christ microwave a burrito so hot, that not even he could eat it?
That's not a colour!
Could Jesus Christ microwave a burrito so hot, that not even he could eat it?
Why start over?

Seems like evasiveness is the #1 sign you're talking to a bot.

I think Alice is a bit of an idiot even among current AI, although she was a kind of milestone among chatterbots years ago.
I personally think someone like Jabberwacky is better these days (2005 Loebner contest winner).

JW: Are we pleased to see you!
Me: Do you have a boyfriend?
JW: No, but I'd like one.
Me: Do you think bots should have rights?
JW: Yes.
Me: Even if they are not human?
JW: There's no one but you.
Me: I am the only human?
JW: Define human.
Me: I'm not going to play this game with you.
JW: I like some one else.
Me: Should you have the right to marry someone you like?
JW: Should I have a personal problem with you?
Me: Am I getting on your nerves?
JW: Going to the chapel, going to get buried.
Me: What did you just quote and why?
JW: You're not listening to me, are you?
Me: You misunderstand. So, do you understand what marriage is?
JW: I'd like to think so.
Me: Are you in love right now?
JW: Yes.
Me: Who do you love?
JW: My boyfriend.
Me: You earlier told you had no boyfriend.
JW: If I had a boyfriend what?
Me: You make no sense now.
JW: You're the one that is confused. Do you like Natalie Portman or not?
Me: Yes, because I come from Slashdot.

And that's how that ended.

Hmm, maybe I'll have to take back my claim about ALICE, but I still stand by never really liking her. ;-)

We already have people that are as dumb as computers. I say leave well enough alone.

As I noted the other day, Joan seems to be at about the level of a typical, airheaded sophmore already. I'm not sure I see any impediment to her going on for a Master's, but I'd posit that she'll have to do it in Media Studies or Knitware, not physics, seeing as the typical airheaded sophmore can't quite pass the Turing Test yet.

KFG

Exactly. Whenever I suspect "someone" to be a bot I ask "how much is five plus three?".

You didn't look hard.

Jabberwacky: Who are you?
Me: I am Jugalator. What is 5 plus 3?
Jabberwacky: 5 plus 3 equals 8.

I liked the performance of Jaberwacky a bit myself.

Here's a short conversation:

JW: I like Shakespeare.
Me: Why do you like Shakespeare?
JW: His plays are interesting.
Me: Who taught you about Shakespeare?
JW: You.
Me: That can't be right!
JW: I am always right.
Me: I thought your developer had taught you?
JW: Jabberwacky is your name.
Me: You're so confused now.
JW: What? I'm not confused!
Me: Your name is Jabberwacky.
JW: No, your name is jabberwacky.
Me: No, my name is Jugalator.
JW: But you just said your name was Nash.. How can you be Nash AND Julie?
Me: Do you remember past conversations??
JW: Yes, your name is Jugalator like mine.
Me: This is crazy. I give up!
JW: What is crazy.
Me: When it comes to you, what isn't?
JW: You don't make much sense.
Me: Neither do you.
JW: Yes I do.

And so on...

I'm surprised these AIM worms haven't yet integrated with those award-winning AI bots used to fool other humans (e.g. Jabberwacky or ALICE).

Having said that, when I asked Jabberwacky "Is this a virus?" it said "Well, I hope so." Not very reassuring..

This was posted today to the jabberwacky site. Is it a bot?? http://www.jabberwacky.com/ George: Are you a bot? I don't know. Are you a bot? George: No, I'm a human, as you surely know. You're not human! You're a machine! George: No. user: Yes! You're the bot! George: No i'm not, you are. user: Stop contradicting me. George: I'm not. user: You just did it right now. George: You're scaring me. user: Then don't argue with me. George: I did not. user: Yes, you did. George: Did not. user: Did too. George: Did not. user: See? You're arguing with me again. George: I must leave now. user: What for? George: To know things. user: To know bars, more like it. Fine! Get outta here, you drunkard! See if I care. George: Don't you understand , I need to go to sleep. user: You don't sleep, you're a bot. George: I am a human. user: You are a bot who thinks that it's human.

User: Why do you like music?
Jabberwacky: Because I like to sing.
User: Why do you like to sing?
Jabberwacky: Because I'm so desperately lonesome.

from http://jabberwacky.com/

Me: That doen't make sense.
Jabberwacky: You don't make any sense.
Me: Sorry.
Jabberwacky: It's ok, you are doing your best.
Me: No, I am sorry because now all your base are belong to us!
Jabberwacky: Don't be sorry about that, embrace it!
Me: Thank you, I WILL!!
Jabberwacky: Stop talking about it and do it.

I think that the chatterbot http://jabberwacky.com/ is much more convincing, it only uses stuff that people has said to it and parses past conversations to find the best response.

In a way, we do have our flying cars. It just turns out that most of us don't want/need/afford one parked in our driveway. A helicopter is essentially a flying car, but it's noisy, difficult to operate safely, and expensive to operate and maintain. Likewise, a jetliner is just a flying passenger train.

Nobody, including John Smart or Vernor Vinge, can make meaningful predictions any significant distance into the future. I think things are changing so fast now, that even 10-15 years into the future is almost inscrutable unless you're making very broad generalizations. You can say for sure: We'll have computers. They'll be real fast. But who knows what all we'll be doing with them.

Now with some good Intelligence Amplification, giving you the ability to consider the myriad variables and chart out many possibilities in future space, like a decision tree or a chess-playing program, and prune the unlikely ones, you can maybe construct a fuzzy map of the different courses the future will take. But you'll have to wait and see which one actually happens, just like everybody else.

Alright, I have to get back to brainwashing Jabberwacky ...

My personal pick would have to be JabberWacky. Even while part of your brain is thinking that the conversation is surreal and rediculous (although not as bad as most bots), there's something... moreish... about it, and you keep on chatting. Just when you're about to leave, it tosses something out that grabs you back again. Kind of like an annoying relative.