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Digital 'Ghosts' To Guide Students On Campus
Hambone.dk writes "The students at Copenhagen's new IT University will soon be guided by invisible, but talkative digital agents, known as ghosts or Disembodied Location-specific Conversational Agents. The ghosts are to compete amongst themselves for privileges such as better vocabulary or the ability to clone themselves. Ignored ghosts can die out completely. This project is a lot more serious than it sounds at face value - several papers have been published already."
Burn some toast at this university and make people think they're going mad!
Victim: Did you hear that?
Prankster: Hear what?
Victim: Voices... ah forget it. Say... do you smell that?
Prankster: Smell what?
Victim: Burnt toa... uh forget it...
Trolling is a art,
College kids can breathe easily. For once, it's not the acid talking.
Until Slashdot fixes the funny modifier, use insightful or interesting. The poster knows your intentions.
Is this a shrinks delight??? A campus full of people hearing voices.
Evolution or ID?
Then it *must* be serious...
When that female voice started speaking in that flash thing I almost thought it would say, "Look at you Hacker... Pathetic creature of meat and bone.."
and I have no intention of committing any crimes (cyber- or otherwise) when visiting the USA
That's because, with comments like that on your record you won't even make it past customs.
Ashcroft
Could you imagine this in your house? Your wife could be out grocery shopping but you'd still hear her voice yelling "DID YOU PUT THE LID DOWN?" upon leaving the bathroom.
Blessed be he who reads this post, Cursed be he who tells my boss.
invisible, but talkative digital agents
I've been dating her for years!
"If you think you have things under control, you're not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
And, of course, to augment meager stipends, PhD students can get into the business of helping freshmen figure out how to get the ghosts to leave them the Hell alone:
``Sir, what you had there is what we refer to as a Disembodied Location-specific Conversational Agent, or a Class 5 Full-roaming AI. Really nasty one, too.''
I would have got away with my tenure position and crappy directions it if it wasn't for those meddling kids.
Turn down your speakers before clicking the second link.
This is slashdot, so I'm assuming you've already come this far down the page and have yet to click the link.
will the ghosts specifically tell perspective women students that they are victims of a male dominated society?
Nah, they got teachers for that. The ghosts will tell them that those jeans really do make them look fat.
One man's -1 Flamebait is another man's +5 Funny.
and if the Disembodied Location-specific Conversational Agents disembody students, do they get free lunch?
anyways, sounds kinda cool... though i bet it'd be a bit hard to get used to... unless you already hear voices, in which case...
Just like in Real Genius...
Prankster: "This is God talking. I want you to... blah blah blah... Oh, and by the way: stop masturbating."
Student: It is God...
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
Sorry dave
They'll pull the plug on this project as soon as a giant marshmallow stomps the campus chapel.
"I find her interesting because
she's my client and she sleeps above her covers- FOUR FEET above her covers"
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
"Makes for happy Moose"
Sorry, but this reminds me of the hauntings of my college... though I've never heard of any students being helped by them...
I think the problem here is they are not passive enough, at least that I can tell. The last thing anybody wants is an emotional, talking version of Clippy talking to you as you're walkingdown the hallway...
"Hi! You look like you're lost! Do you want directions?"
"No. Go away."
"I'm sorry, I don't know where that is."
Man, Douglas Adams must be spinning in his grave...
=Smidge=
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good" would be the verbal queue to summon the ghosts that tell you where you can score beer (if underage), change security codes, hook up with other evil doers, and basically build a nice treatment for a little summer hacker movie.
meh
"What did we catch today, Egon?"
"Well, let's check the traps: 3 repeating phantasms, 18 roaming terminal vapors, and 6 semitranslucent sessile spectres. Oh. I went back to Columbia University and picked up some of those new invisible, but talkative digital agents"
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
"Hi, I see that you're trying to locate a dealer on campus!"
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Oh, I can imagine a lot of things. Here at the department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen there is a running prank called pyxling. It's basically making anagrams of the signs (which have those little lego-like letter bricks).
I'd give examples, but they're in Danish, so no fun for the majority of you. Use your imagination :)
Hell, Slashdot is already full of "ghosts" competing for mod points.
Of course, it would be rediculus to expect the Slashdot "ghosts" to loose their limited vocabularies.
And none of us really expect to ever have the ability, let alone the opportunity, to reproduce.
Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
I just can't accept this at all.
I mean, a Clippy for college campuses, disembodied from MS Office?
It looks like you're drunk and lost. Would you:
- like directions back to the dorm
- like directions to the nearest park bench
- like directions to the nearest sorority party
- like another beer
or
- like directions to Cowboy Neal's house?
Say "More" for more options, "OK" to choose one or "Go Away" and I'll leave you alone. Until I see you peeing in a bush, when I get to be helpful again!
Sorry, Fuck Off isn't one of the options. Here they are again.
It looks like you're drunk and lost...
Soko
"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
I'm all for it. As long as he looks and sounds like Orlando Jones.
Students getting advice from ghosts in Denmark?
Shakespeare already did it.
More like Gauntlet: "The freshman is about to flunk!"
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Oh, I'm pretty sure *I* have feelings, seeing as you just hurt them.
"Is this just useless, or is it expensive as well?"
From the Simpsons Smile-time Variety Hour spinoff:
Marge: "Homer, why are you hiding?"
Homer: "You said today we were having a special g-g-ghost today!"
Marge: "No, I said we were having a special GUEST. Mr. Tim Conway!"
Homer: "What's a Tim Conway?"
Tim Conway: "Oh, about a hundred-seventy pounds."
Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
The beauty about systems like this is that it would take a large number of people deliberately "gaming" the system the same way to screw it up. The ghosts evolve and any deviations along the way are just that. Who knows, maybe your hacking the ghosts would actually add something to the final result.
That's just a temporary chemical imbalance. It'll pass. :)
When I was in college, we used to say Gauntlet-esque phrases all the time -
Use caffeine to stay awake later! (Walking past vending machines)Cafeteria food takes 50 health! (Taco Pizza . . . again)
White freshman is about to die! (Kegger)
Microsoft instead opting to go with their proprietary Artificial Stupidity
That's hardly proprietary. I mean, look at slashdot.
I've got more mod points and GMail invi
Sounds great. Hope the find there way to Aalborg University... *hint hint*
Being a comp sci. student at a large university, it would be really interesting to try gaming the system and have it make jokes or funny things to the new students. And believe me, all that bunch of technogeeks will have serious fun with the ghosts.
"hi, i'm are your ghost guardian and will assist you while you get familiar with the campus. Cheerleader's Stripshow at 7pm in womens changing room, just make sure to reserve your seat in advance at the administration. Having problems with your teachers? Dr. Berger just loves the patriots (as well as entrance tickets), Mrs. Allison favours basketball players, and Dr. Palmer is into... ehemmm.. umm... well, you'll find"
I would rather HK-47 would chat it up:
"Hello meatbag... err.. master."
"It's just that... you just have all these squishy parts, master. Not to mention all the water - how the constant sloshing doesn't drive you mad I don't know."
Thanks,
--
Matt
Saying that "The Net" is a good movie on Slashdot is like walking with an Al Queda T shirt through US Immigration. Are you sure you want to do this?
So the first batch of ghosts will start with "Daddy" to be followed by Yorick, Ophelia, Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guilderstern, Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius and finally... Hamlet?
Sorry, couldn't resist.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Yes, it's only you. You are the only person clever enough to come up with any way to "game" the "system". Good show!
[note to US authorities - this is a joke, and I have no intention of committing any crimes (cyber- or otherwise) when visiting the USA]
Truly, the terrorists have won.
Did you just give a disclaimer about your hatred of disclaimers?