I remember toying around years ago with ELIZA, a very early AI implementation that mimicked psychoanalysis. Sherry Turkle and others have documented how computer psychoanalysis packages like ELIZA and its more modern cousins are credible enough to inspire feelings on the part of their users that would normally be linked to human relationships.
Clearly, one factor here is careful picking of battles by those creating the AI software. Psychoanalysis can take the form of recycling the statements of the patient into questions, making it easier than other forms of dialogue for a computer to emulate.
It's clearly true that an 18-month-old's language is simpler than that of an adult, but does it also have the attractive predictability of psychoanalysis? If so, this might not be a huge advance. On the other hand, if the simple talk this system can emulate is hard to predict, then it might be a significant feat.
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Clearly, one factor here is careful picking of battles by those creating the AI software. Psychoanalysis can take the form of recycling the statements of the patient into questions, making it easier than other forms of dialogue for a computer to emulate.
It's clearly true that an 18-month-old's language is simpler than that of an adult, but does it also have the attractive predictability of psychoanalysis? If so, this might not be a huge advance. On the other hand, if the simple talk this system can emulate is hard to predict, then it might be a significant feat.