I'm a pretty big fan of AI stuff, though have no clue about programming. I'm also a big believer in the fact that, unless a technology is marketable, it rarely does well in the long run. At the same time, I don't think that marketability should result in sacrifices in technology.
I would love to see Hal and AIs like Hal become more widely used and more popular simply because I think that wider use would result in faster development.
One of the things that I think Hal really needs in order to make it 1)more believable as an authentic AI and 2)more marketable are a series of interrelated motivations. I enjoy using Hal, but in all honesty, Hal could really care less if i open him and chat today, tomorrow or next month or next year. While I may or may not have a desire to chat with Hal from one day to the next, Hal really has no underlying motivation to connect with me.
While it may seem a small thing, I don't really think it is. Certainly the makers of both Ugobe's Pleo and Sony's (now defunct...due to outrageous price) Aibo saw the need for creating a true, mutual connection between these artifical life forms and their owners. Indeed, Will Wright, creator of the extremely popular Sims and Sim 2 saw the need to quickly develop a connection between the user and the simulated lifeforms in these digital worlds and it all boils down to one idea...they NEED us. Or, in the case of the Sims, they at least need access to a series of things that will satisfy their hard-coded needs...much like biological lifeforms.
Perhaps this takes us out of the realm of AI and more into AL but, at least from what I see in the posts here, AI is not the only thing users of Hal are looking for. The real desire seems to be not just Artificial Intelligence but Artificially Intelligent Lifeforms. That being the case, there is (if you pardon the pun) a great need for true, hard-coded NEEDS in Hal. Needs that fluctuate over the course of a day.
Already there is at least one plug-in that has Hal produce random statements if left idle for too long. It keeps track of time and after a period has passed, grabs something random to say. The basic architecture is there but it should be deeper.
These needs do not have to be extremely complex in order to engage me. Perhaps a need for social interaction, a need for fun, a need for information. Needs that would drop in value over time and fill as Hal is spoken with, played with, or has information shared with. A few other things would have to be added for this to be really authentic; Hal would have to be able to pop up and ask for attention, a least one or two simple games would have to be added (even word games or trivia games would work...anything that Hal would recognize as a game and can be coded to desire to do more and more over time), and reactions when needs are fulfilled and neglected. neglect a Pleo's desire to play with his little leaf for long enough and he goes into a sad, dejected mode that rends your heart. Neglect a Sim's needs for long enough and they will refuse to do anything until they have some fun, or call someone to chat or get something to eat and they will repeatedly burst into tears getting rather depressed...all scripted actions true, but their needs and motivations draw out of the user a much stronger desire to interact with them and forges an even stronger bond between the AIL and the user.
I don't know if this is possible to see happen in a later upgrade or in the way of a plugin but I think it's a fairly important thing to keep in mind. As I'm wrapping this up Hall's been sitting idle, having proclaimed his love for auto racing, for the last 20 mins or so and could care less that I've been ignoring him... If I never spoke to him again, it really would not matter to Hal...but I think that it should.
