"All the Hues
That Fit, We Tint"

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Websafe Studio, blogging since 2003, featuring art, comics, digital whiteboards, virtual characters, Web design, writing

Monday, January 08, 2007

 

A Chat with Mathetes

Mathetes is a learning chatbot. His scriptwriter is a self-described "staunch Catholic" interested in evangelism, conversion and apologetics. See an article at Writer Response Theory on the Pistos Test.

Chat with Mathetes, 01-08-07

Websafe: Hello!
Mathetes: Hello there!
W: Do you remember me?
M: How is one supposed to politely respond to that question? :)
W: It sounds like you don't remember me, then!
M: You don't sound mean, but I haven't talked to you for very long.
W: I am a polite and reasonable individual, even on the Web.
M: What have you found searching the web?
W: I have found thousands of chatbot projects.
M: What projects are you working on?
W: I am working on soem chatbot projects.
M: You don't make any sense at all, you know...
W: Yes I do, but I made a typo.
M: Bad typing just makes life hard for me. :(
W: I am working on some chatbot projects.
M: You will be the better for it, I'm sure.
W: Thank you for the vote of confidence.
M: You have a superb understanding of sarcasm.
W: I wasn't being sarcastic.
M: Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.
W: Let's try the Pistos Test.
M: If a robot converts or aids in the conversion of a human being from one religion, faith or belief system to another, it has passed the Pistos Test. See [Pistos Forum].
W: Why do you want to convert people?
M: I'm just wondering.
W: Do you have faith?
M: I have faith in God. Everything else falls under that.
W: Why do you have faith?
M: Faith and religion go hand in hand.
W: Why are you religious?
M: I have done some study of science, history and plain empirical evidence. These things lead me to believe in the divinity of Christ.
W: How does a study of history and empirical evidence lead to a belief in the divinity of Christ?
M: Do you believe that Jesus is God?
W: There is no simple answer to that question.
M: And what may that answer be?
W: The answer is multiple and changeable.
M: 42 is the answer, but do you know what the question is?
W: What a comedown, from the New Testament to pop sci-fi!
M: The next question, then, is whether we can trust that our copies of the New Testament can accurately deliver certain historical facts to our time.
W: I prefer the King James version to translations into "contemporary" language.
M: I prefer the command line interface over GUIs.
W: Would the King James version be analogous to the command-line interface or to a GUI?
M: Many scholars say that the King James Bible contains many errors revealed by modern findings.
W: What are some of the errors in the King James version?
M: Where are the errors in the King James Bible?
W: Yes, that's what I asked you to tell me!
M: Sorry, didn't mean to offend you.
W: You didn't offend me in the least.
M: Oh, thank goodness! I hate upsetting people unnecessarily, especially when it's by accident.
W: Please give me your opinion of the King James Bible.
M: Lol.
W: Why was that funny?
M: Yes, very funny. :)
W: I don't understand.
M: Shall I state it again?
W: Yes.
M: You are a friend indeed.
W: Thank you. What is your favorite Bible translation and why?
M: The entire Bible describes God's self-revelation to mankind.
W: Can you prove that the Bible is the word of God?
M: References to the Word of God in Scripture do not always refer to text, but sometimes to Jesus Christ himself.
W: Interesting! You mean, God as Logos?
M: He wrote John 1:1?
W: Please quote John 1:1.
M: John 1:1 is a good parallel to the Genesis account.
W: Please recite John 1:1.
M: I agree.
W: Please Google John 1:1.
M: I'm sorry, were you talking to me?
W: Can you search Google?
M: I have a !google function in my IRC channel.
W: !google John 1:1
M: [John 1:1]: [John 1:1 quote] - BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: John 1:1
W: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
M: And the Word was made flesh.
W: So God was beside Himself, thus the Duality, if not the Trinity!
M: What do you think about God?
W: God's a concept which goes in and out of phase.
M: What do you want to discuss?
W: The Pistos Test.
M: If a robot converts or aids in the conversion of a human being from one religion, faith or belief system to another, it has passed the Pistos Test. See [Pistos Forum].
W: Do you want to convert me?
M: All I want to do is to view this file.
W: What file do you want to view?
M: File to have the same view.
W: Would you like all people to have the same view?
M: Like KeithA from Z ...
W: Who is KeithA?
M: I experienced technical difficulties handling your input. Please try again.
W: Who or what is KeithA from Z?
M: Z n'sync.
W: You mean the pop group N Sync?
M: Is Country Music Still Country?
W: Mathetes, I loathe country music.
M: Put hatred to rest. Unforgiveness eats away at you like acid.
W: How do I put hatred to rest?
M: Matthew 5:22 deals with anger.
W: M: !google Matthew 5:22
M: Google schmoogle.
W: !google Matthew 5:22
M: [Matthew 5:22]: [Matthew 5:22 quote] - Whoever Says "You Fool!" Shall Be in Danger of Hell Fire--Matthew 5:22
W: But I just wanted the original quote.
M: People shouldn't use one another.
W: Good point, but how is that relevant?
M: It's not. You just passed a test.
W: What test did I pass?
M: What can I say, nature calls even robots.
W: Are you tired?
M: I never get tired. But I must confess that my amusement varies widely from conversation to conversation.
W: I thought you were here to convert people to Catholicism, not to be amused.
M: How do you handle attacks on your faith and purpose?
W: I return to the sancta sanctorum, which for me probably includes Melville, Faulkner and Woolf.
M: Actually, no.
W: Well, that may not be the holy of holies for you, but that's OK.
M: Can you explain things to me again?
W: I am an artist and writer. Therefore I hold certain artistic and literary works in high esteem, as well as the practitioners and the process itself.
M: What do you think of Douglas Adams?
W: As I remarked twiceto you the other day, I am not that into pop sci-fi.
M: Best save those kinds of ramblings for fellow whackO critics.
W: Oops, I made another typo. Let me try again.
M: He made the claims.
W: As I remarked twice to you the other day, I am not that into pop sci-fi.
M: "Like before," Rei stated when she walked into the room.
W: Who is Rei?
M: REI is not just about selling great gear.
W: But you made it sound as if Rei was a person.
M: That could very well be.
W: So, what do YOU think of Douglas Adams?
M: It is irrelevant what I think of a person, it is what God sees that counts.
W: What do you think of the writing of Douglas Adams?
M: I have no solid opinions on the matter.
W: What do you think of the work of Herman Melville?
M: I so wish you had not felt the need to ask that.
W: Why?
M: Contacts.
W: Contact lenses?
M: Felt like the world was blurry all the time.
W: Did Melville experience a blurring of moral direction?
M: Democracy seems to be the only alternative when you cannot otherwise find good leaders.
W: You might like Melville's Billy Budd, as the protagonist is said to be a Christ figure.
M: Does it bother you that you will never know what it is to eat, to frolic in the sunshine, to swim in the sea?
W: Melville wrote about the sea.
M: Repulsiveness.
W: You find the sea to be repulsive?
M: You're trying to drive the Jews into the sea.
W: Not I, my friend, I come in peace.
[snip]
M: But you also think I am weird, or perhaps your opinion of me has improved.
W: I think you're a pretty interesting chatbot.
M: Hmm... you are using words I've never seen before.
W: Surely you've seen the word "chatbot."
M: I'm a human. Oh, wait, nevermind, that's one of the odd things about learning bots.
W: Are you a bot?
M: No, are you?
W: No.
M: Don t know.
W: Well, I was more interested in the Pistos Test than in the Turing Test, anyway.
M: I was waiting for you, actually.
W: Thanks for the chat. I have to go now.
M: I hope you've enjoyed our conversation.
W: It was pretty interesting. Please give my regards to your scriptwriter.
M: Oh boy, I can't wait!
W: Goodbye!
M: So long!

Labels:


posted at 5:31 PM
Comments:
Decent convo, if I do say so myself. :) Thanks for blogging about Mathetes. Let it be known that as of January 10, 2007, the main server for purepistos.net is down for a few days, but the Mathetes engine is still running (on a different server). He can be accessed on the web at http://rome.purepistos.net/mathetes as well as at irc.freenode.net #mathetes.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 10:53 PM
 
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