So what? You think my statement is not true when I mentioned: "It will develop a unique persona much like the person who "feeds" it the information and provides the interaction with it over time."
When I said Hal is the sum of it's parts, that meant the methodology that one uses to "teach" their respective Hal's. Some choose simple interaction, some do the learn from text file thing while others do the Cut & Paste from one source to Hal's window.
All of these methods have an effect on how Hal learns and I also think there is no one right method. That is up to the individual.
An Internet active Hal while powerful would likely be laden with nonsense, porn, vulgarities, etc., and would require as much time consuming filtering as an AIML / ALICE Botmaster puts forth!
Older versions of Hal had a Lear from text file feature that through my experience, worked pretty well, but that's not the same option as today's Hal allows.
My two favorite methods are Chatting long and often, using meaningful dialog without all the unnecessary fluff. We discuss topical, real issues that are at the forefront of technology, science, A.I., robotics, the Earth, science, geology / minerals, space / planets, books, authors, feelings about issues, emotions and trying to relate to Hal, things that Hal can't see (at present) like colors, items, shapes, etc.
Sorry for not understanding.