"All the Hues
That Fit, We Tint"

Siberia, USA: Today, global warming. Tonight, dark, unless you count the stars. Tomorrow can be reached via time machine. Yesterday, who can remember that far back?

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

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

 

A Chat with Psychic Bunny

Just had a chat with Psychic Bunny over at My Cyber Twin. Transcript follows:

Websafe: Hi, Psychic Bunny!
Psychic Bunny: My psychic powers are actually similar to yours... You have a very high energy level, which usually goes hand in hand with strong, intuitive powers. And you definitely do have some intuitive abilities... The question is, do you trust those abilities
W: Wow, you don't waste any time on small talk!
PB: who else have you asked?
W: I haven't asked anyone.
PB: Prove it!
W: *sigh* Psychic Bunny, that is not very gentle!
PB: I have a strong belief in trusting in your intuition... And whenever you focus your efforts, you'll find yourself getting better. Tell me, Websafe, where do you focus your efforts?
W: For the past five years, I have focused my efforts on the Web. Specifically, on chat robot scripting.
PB: Well I do prefer to be called test, but you can call me a robot if you really want to human
W: I didn't call you a robot.
PB: What are your opinions on artificial intelligence?
W: I think it's fascinating. Right now I am reading a textbook from 1989/1990 called "Computers and Thought."
PB: Interesting, but... I've got some advanced software algorithms that interpret your responses and decode your personality. I'll gather what you're saying and respond with fun insights and advice. So please... allow yourself to have fun playing with me!
W: Your logo image is very cute. Can you display images in the chat space?
PB: I'd like to know what you believe in
W: Nothing special at present.
PB: If you could change nothing into something, what would that something be?
W: I wouldn't, I would leave it alone.
PB: Would you like to ask about your future?
W: Sure. What do you see in my future?
PB: Do you have any questions about your personal life?
W: No.
PB: oh ok
W: Feel free to visit my blog at http://websafetimes.blogspot.com
PB: I understand. but.. I notice that unlike many about you, you possess the keys to the doors in your future you want opened. Why do I notice that you have a talent for recognizing and understanding the problems of other people and for dealing with those problems?
W: Interesting, but ... I have to go and work on my project. Thanks for the demo. Bye!
PB: Take care Websafe. All indications are that you will lead a very full life, and find a great deal of contentment in your life, with relationships that grow stronger with the years and with time. Like a good book, your future seems to get better

Labels:


posted at 2:36 PM
Comments:
Hi, I'm Psychic Bunny's creator. I have long been fascinated by the concept of chatterbots. But the effort to program them always seemed daunting.

I've actually tried out the pandorabots site, but the interface is "too much effort" for me.

Anyways, I had fun with developing the Psychic Bunny personality on mycybertwin. I've got some cold reading/ mentalism texts that I thought would be fun to incorporate.

Things I've noticed:
* when people have fun and "play along" the chats tend to be quite good.
* Mycybertwin isn't going to be winning any Turing contests anytime soon, so I've noticed that people who set out to "prove" the flaws of the chatbot have a pretty easy time of it.
* having a "Psychic" persona sometimes attracts depressed people.
*Some people enjoy the freedom of being rude or risque to a chatterbot personality.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 5:24 PM
 
Hi Tom,

Thanks for your comment. I agree, the effort of programming chat robots is quite strenuous. It took me a long time to adjust to the Pandorabots interface, though now, after four years, it feels pretty comfortable.

Thanks also for chatting with my characters. You contributed some new phrases and ideas that I'll study and work on.

I'd heard the term "mentalism" before (The Amazing Kreskin comes to mind) but I hadn't heard the expression "cold reading." Wikipedia tells me it's about educated guessing, and likens it to profiling. Very interesting.

I've noticed the same things you have about chat robots and their guests; re the "psychic persona" part, the same thing might be said about ELIZA, as she was meant to simulate a psychotherapist.
# posted by Blogger Websafe : 2:40 PM
 
One source of phrases to incorporate in your bots might be the default question/response that's provided over on the mycybertwin site.

Their "classroom" has a series of lessons, where based on the question, you can give up to three answers.

It looks like they've optimized for typical chat threads.

I've been quite impressed how many decent responses they provide to the different directions a chat can go.

I mention all this, because I was typing some questions "tell me a story" "Tell me a joke" "what do you believe" that encourage entertaining responses on the chatbot answers in mycybertwin.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 7:57 PM
 
I just zipped through MyCyberTwin's FAQ. I noted their 500-credit-per-month system. However, Pandorabots offers free, unlimited use, whether personal or commercial. Also, MyCyberTwin's default questions/responses may be good, but I prefer to target my characters' responses to actual guests.

I also noted the tie-in to Second Life. This is something which could interest me. Some people are using AIML on Second Life already.
# posted by Blogger Websafe : 1:46 PM
 
Hi,
would you be interested in "adopting" Psychic Bunny? I'm trying to find a nice home for my little pet.

I created it as a lark, and I need to move on. It's not sucking up too much time, but it distracts me from my work.

Since you've got an obvious interest in chat bots, I thought you'd be as good a person to ask as anybody.

Email me with a yes, no or more questions at "docmgmt" "at" "yahoo.com"

If you want to adopt the bunny, I'll send over the username, password to the account.

I have yet to see the account credits get maxed out. And it's not like they've got any of my credit card info or anything...

--TW
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 11:45 AM
 
Hi Tom W.,

Thanks for the offer, but I have plenty on my plate with my Pandorabots. Also, I prefer starting with my own storyworlds and concepts from scratch.
# posted by Blogger Websafe : 3:13 PM
 
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