What is a Chatterbot?
Chatterbots are programs that are designed to offer an electronic interaction with humans that is somewhat similar to the conversation or chatter that takes place between two people. Utilized in a number of applications, the chatterbot is intimately involved with online gaming and other programs where the actions and verbal communications of a human being impact the responses made by the computer program. This type of program enhancement can help to make various applications friendlier for many users. Sometimes known as talk bots, chat bots, or even chatterboxes, the chatterbot functions as a conversational agent. Online gaming is one example of programs where the device helps to create a more attractive environment and entices the human player to enter into a game. Even if there are no other human players participating, the chatterbot provides conversation based on what the individual chooses to say or do. While the interaction may lack the spontaneity of verbal communications between
A chatterbot is a conversation simulator done as a computer program which give the appearance of conversing with a user in natural language – or better sayed: natural typed language. Because chatterbots are programs only, they are no robots (they have no body, have no mouth on principle and cannot speak – mostly), the idea is to make a conversation by typing – mostly performed by way of the internet. The question behind chatterbots is: Can machines think (or at least talk) like humans? Since more than 50 years scientist are involving this idea, and are exploring the possiblities of Artificial Intelligence – and get no answer so far. One discipline to explore the possibility of an Artificial Intelligence is the study of natural language. Linguists try to provide a general description of how human languages are structured and to base them on powerful theoretical and mathematical models. The question is: “How does language work?” The other discipline is the study of the nature of behaviou
A chatterbot is a computer program for simulating conversation between a human and a machine. You input a question or statement of any kind, and the chatterbot replies, just as a person would (using its own version of logic!). Chatterbots try to create the illusion that an authentic exchange is taking place between two thinking, living entities. Sometimes you have to pinch yourself to remember that you are not talking to a real person. Other times, it’s all too obvious… The origins of chatterbots can be traced back to 1950, when the British mathematician Alan Turing famously asked the question: “Can machines think?”. It was a good question, and many people have since spent considerable amounts of time and effort in trying to prove that the answer is ‘yes’. Researchers in artificial intelligence have devoted much time and effort to trying to understand human cognitive capacities and adapt them to machines. Chatterbots represent just one aspect of this research.
A chatterbot is an artificial intelligence program written to simulate intelligent conversation through written text. On the extreme end, a chatterbot may be entered in a chatroom with real people, that may be fooled into thinking this artificial “entity” is a real person. The very first program that I recall was Eliza. Although Eliza was written in the sixties, versions and adaptations were made for home computers in the early eighties. I have even typed in Eliza clone programs from magazines in 1983. These were clever character string editors. Why am I mentioning chatterbots on a robot web site? The mind of a robot is merely a software program. Most industrial robots do nothing more than read and execute a set of instructions. However, the robots that science fiction is interested in display human emotions. This is artificial intelligence. Think of chatterbots as robots without bodies, in much the same way as the Hal 9000 is from 2001: A Space Odyssey ( image left ). Maybe they aren’
