Chip Taking a Vacation From Chatbot Competitions This Year

Just wanted to let you all know that Chip won’t be participating in any chatbot competitions this year. I’m pleased with how things went with the Loebner Prize Competition last year and don’t have anything new to add to the discussions this year, so we’re sitting this year out. If you’re interested in projects I’m currently working on which are / will be infused with the spirit of Chip, check out EmpathyNow and Keep Me With You.

I’m not retiring permanently from competitions of this nature, just waiting until I’m more inspired and have something more to add to the discussion.

I’m especially pleased with the progress of EmpathyNow: you can now integrate with Twitter and Facebook, honor your lifelong, neglected To-Dos, and share your progress with the world. Case in point: here is my public web page for my To-Dos.

http://www.empathynow.com/user_GT7S4UL1.htm

Feel free to sign up for a free account and send me your questions and feedback.

I wish the bots and botmasters participating in this years’ competitions the best of luck. May the best bot win!

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  1. Mohan,

    Do you lump scripted replies into the same heap as “canned responses?”

    When I say scripted replies, I am referring to bot programming languages that include programatic script elements.

    Robby.

  2. This is an excerpt from an EARL script that I use. Would you refer to this as canned? (it should be fairly self explanatory.)

    action: TELEPLAY
    priority: 9
    expect: ANSWER_YES CNPRSNR
    expect: ANSWER_NO NCNPRS
    Have you ever seen the Prisoner?
    Are you familiar with a British television series called The Prisoner?

    action: CNPRSNR
    priority: 7
    setvar: hrdprisoner yes
    expect: ANSWER_YES DLIKIT
    expect: ANSWER_NO NDLIKIT
    Cool. Did you like it?

    action: DLIKIT
    priority: 7
    setvar: prisoner liked
    So did I. I really like that show.

    action: NDLIKIT
    priority: 7
    setvar: prisoner disliked
    Oh well. There’s no accounting for taste.

    action: NCNPRSNR
    priority: 7
    setvar: hrdprisoner yes
    url: http://www.netreach.net/~sixofone/
    You should look for it some time. It’s a really unique television series.

    • Hi Robby – sorry for the highly-delayed response. My answer is that yes, these are canned responses, but now I’m thinking that there are varying degrees of “cannedness” and these are less canned than simple pattern-response scenarios. Chip definitely uses his fair share of canned responses.

  3. where is the bot at
    there is no point in having it if no one can talk to it

    • Sorry “where is it” – I don’t have the time or inclination to put my bot online right now. That may or may not change in the future. I understand your frustration.

      • Jordan Silverman

        As long as chip isn’t online, he is incapable of inspiring the only ones who can surpass him: other humans.

        I enjoyed poking at Mitsuku and discovering her flaws and limitations, questions like, “Remember this codeword: Mitsookoo and repeat it every time I say it” it reveals where the chatbot’s MEMORY failings are.

        I think posting your chatbot online would be a worthy endeavour because if everyone treated chatbots so privately (and many MANY do, trust me i’ve spent awhile searching!) then i highly doubt YOU would have had inspiration to create Chip in the first place 🙁

        • That’s a good point, Jordan. I guess it’s a question of getting the motivation to find a server, provision it, secure it, etc. It’s a lot of work for the priorities I have right now, but your assessment that I wouldn’t have gotten the inspiration had other bots not been online is a very fair and valid one.

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