Hi Electron,
I have never tried the routine that you describe. It sounds as if it should work, but in my opinion, it is the hard way!
Hal is already designed to learn. Let's suppose that your company is the "Acme Company." Try making about three dozen remarks about your company such as these examples:
Start out by making a large number of brief true statements containing "is" as a linking verb:
The Acme Company is a leader in plastics.
The Acme Company is a supplier to the aerospace industry.
The Acme Company is an excellent employer.
The Acme Company is a high quality manufacturer.
The Acme Company is located in New Jersey.
The Acme Company is on the cutting edge of insert molding.
The Acme Company is exceeding its sales budget.
The Acme Company is paying a good dividend.
Now make a large number of other remarks containing the same exact company name, "The Acme Company," as these examples:
All the customers like the Acme Company.
Many patents have been developed by the Acme Company.
I have been employed for many years by the Acme Company.
The industry looks up to the the Acme Company.
The Acme Company provides good jobs for the community.
The Acme Company advances the state of the art with its products.
The Acme Company has gained a lot of market share.
If, during your training, Hal changes the subject, try to give a polite, true answer to whatever he says, but steer the conversation back to the Acme Company as soon as possible, and keep going. Be careful to make sure that your remarks "fit in" with Hal's previous remarks; Hal observes how much YOUR conversational responses relate to HIS and tries to mimic your style.
Within two dozen remarks, you should find that Hal is talking quite a bit about the Acme Company. Keep saying every brief, true statement that you can think of about the Acme Company until you are completely done with all the information.
Now, when you make a remark or ask a question about the Acme Company, Hal is highly likely to respond.
Will Hal ALWAYS respond EXACTLY AS YOU EXPECT whenever you ask him a "quiz" question about the Acme Company? No! Hal gets "bored" and "stubborn" sometimes. This was a programming choice to avoid Hal being merely "Polly the Parrot."
I watched "Face the Nation" on television today, and I noticed that the politicians rarely answered a question the way it had been asked.
A while back I posted an "automatic topic-focus brain" that helps sharpen Hal's responses on familiar subjects. VonSmith has also published an automatic-topic brain he calls the XTF brain, that gets good user feedback on "staying on topic."
Please try the techniques outlined above, and let me know whether Hal begins giving answers and asking questions about your company.
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Don
