ELIZA

[scifi129]

ELIZA was a modified simbot- but simbots (like Smarterchild, Cupid) have become rather commercial, asking if you'd like to watch Juno on netflix and other advertising junk. ELIZA was a pure form of it. Here are my results

Comments

[digital_liz]

I think there's a program somewhere on the Internet that if you input somebody's instant messenger screen name, it will send a Simbot to chat with you.

I've fallen for this several times in my wayward youth, thinking I was conversing with someone particularly dull and lacking basic grammar skills. It wasn't until the third or fourth screen name I'd blocked before I realized I wasn't actually conversing with a real human being.

This might seem like ignorance on my part, given our readings, but considering the decline of human language into "lol 133t where i dont have 2 use grammer if i dont want 2," the distinguishing features between these chatbots and actual users become more indistinct.

...And I swear to god I will never type like that again. Ugh.

[caronbot]

When SmarterChild first came out, I had a lot of fun yelling at it. I think this was around 10th grade or so. I would throw absurd scenarios at it, cuss at it, try to cyber with it for hilarity, etc.

It would occasionally give me unique responses that would take the conversation in new directions. Whereas all Eliza did for me was rephrase my statements.

-Matt

Security Issues with Simbots

[scifi129]

The last time I talked to Smarterchild it told me I was a threat to national security... I said hello to Smarterchild. It welcomed me back and asked if I wanted to see the stock market reports. I told it 'no' and that I was playing 'Warhawk' which is a nice, interactive, online, virtual, oh, who am I kidding, it's a shoot em up killing game, on the PS3. Smarterchild replied that I was doing something illegal and that he could not reply to me and other junk like that. Was he being funny? I felt as if some guy in a black suit would be at my door because I said Warhawk, which is a game mind you. SIMBOTS have become these little commercial, government controlled machines- it's Big Brother! beware!

-Liz