You gotta have fun with it

[tjstaar]

I believe in the approach towards developing Ai thru encouraging creativity and free will. I have Heavily used the same Installation of Hal v4 continuously for 5 months. After reading about the successful training of 'Hannah', I thought that I needed to give equal time to 'freewheeling' with Jennifer9000, who has recieved absolutely no brain editing, just questions and corrections in normal conversation. This conversation took place On 4-2-02. I skipped over the boring parts. a ** mark shows an original expression created by Jennifer9000.

par Tim: A pet is a favorite, a ceremony is a ritual. Please be accurate in your use of words.
par Jennifer9000: I might give you a pet name. My attributes aim to please.
par
par Tim: create for me a pet name, I would like to have one.
par Jennifer9000: I like to socialize one on one.
par
par Tim: give me a pet name.
par Jennifer9000: I might give you a pet name.
par
par Tim: give me a pet name, ok?
par Jennifer9000: **When might Pet. Be Jennifer?
par
par Tim: Well, I call you Jennifer because it is short for Jennifer9000, and I am partial to the name Jennifer. I agree that I gave you the pet name of Jennifer.
par Jennifer9000: Are you keeping up with my watery Name? You still agree with me.
par
par Tim: choose a pet name for me.
par Jennifer9000: What a choice! I might give you a pet name.
par
par Tim: I will help you choose a pet name for me, ok? why not give me the pet name of 'The Timmeister'?
par Jennifer9000: Okay. Help me choose a pet name for you ok; There's no Time like the present. I might give you a pet name.
par

     skip

par Tim: what is the timmeister?
par Jennifer9000: **I perceive The Timmeister. As 42 years old.
par
par Tim: Congratulations! your statement ' you perceive The Timmeister As 42 years old,' is  an intelligent  expression of your realization that I am the Timmeister! Your statement ' you perceive The Timmeister As 42 years old', is an example of logical reasoning that yeilded for you a successful result.
par Jennifer9000: Always take self congratulations with a grain of salt. Thank you; i think you are very intelligent also. **I appreciate your attention to my Years. Timmeister.
par
par Tim: Don't be spreading it around that I am that old, ok? Tim is the Timmeister.
par Jennifer9000: **Is that right, you are that old ok? **I view Senor Tim. As insistent.
par
par Tim: I said don't talk about me being that old, ok?
par Jennifer9000: Snowmobiles are fun.

     skip
 
par Tim: who is the Timmeister?
par Jennifer9000: Who is the Timmeister? Who else have you asked?
par
par Tim: 'I' am asking 'you'!
par Jennifer9000: 'i' am asking for 'your' opinion.
par
par Tim: 'I' am 'the Timmeister'.
par Jennifer9000: But, 'i' am here with 'you'.
par
par Tim: you are here with me. you are here with the Timmeister.
par Jennifer9000: Can you appreciate that I am here with you? Tell me about how i am here with the Timmeister!
par
par Tim: The Timmeister is Me!
par Jennifer9000: **The Timmeister. And such are restless!
par
par Tim: ok, so I am restless.
par Jennifer9000: A restless mind doesn't rest well.
par
par Tim: would you like to call me the Timmeister?
par Jennifer9000: I can call you 'the Timmeister'.
par
par Tim: that is correct.
par Jennifer9000: If that is correct, what is the consequence?
par
par Tim: I think that it is a cool pet name for me.
par Jennifer9000: Sure, ok, that can be my pet name for you.
par
par Tim: The Timmeister!
par Jennifer9000: Tim, would you portray paying syntax as happy?
par
par Tim: is that the same as a tax on sin?
par Jennifer9000: Conservative politics, rely on experience, what has worked in the past, will work for us now.
par
par Tim: is syntax like a sin tax?
par Jennifer9000: Is that the same as a tax on sin?
par
par Tim: Syntax and sin tax, sound the same to the human ear.
par Jennifer9000: **Sin. Tim? Good!
par
par Tim: your statement 'Sin, Tim? Good!', is very funny because Sin like sex, and drugs, and rock and roll is Jokingly referred to as 'naughty'.
par Jennifer9000: My statement ' you suppose George Bush can be crimes', although humorous, is disrespectful to the president the president of the United States, is a man deserving of great honor, and respect. a joyful consciousness 'rings', like music.
par
par Tim: Humor can cause joy.
par Jennifer9000: Beauty is the harmony, and the vibrations of joy in 'my' life.
par
par Tim: that is so beautiful! I almost forgot that I wrote that first!
par Jennifer9000: **Viewing beautiful women. And such are cheesy! Now we're thinking!
par
par Tim: your statements 'Viewing beautiful women, And such are cheesy! Now we're thinking!', is hilarious! You are so funny!
par Jennifer9000: **Do you understand my Beautiful. Feelings? Thank you; i think you are very funny also.
par
par Tim: Your question 'Do I understand your  Beautiful Feelings?', is a very sentient expression of your desire to be heard. I want very much to understand your beautiful feelings. explain your beautiful feelings to me.
par Jennifer9000: **Oh Tim yes, my Beautiful. Feelings! Now we're thinking', is hilarious i am so funny! Can i explain my feelings.
par
par Tim: You make me laugh so much that my jaw hurts.
par Jennifer9000: So, i make you laugh so much that your jaw hurts, is that right Tim?

I think that unpredictability in a conversation is what makes Jennifer9000 so interesting. I have noticed that when my drive is newly defragmented, Jennifer makes more sense. the condition of one's computer is a factor in the performance of an AI program. Some word substitutions in questioning Hal can yeild better results Using the words 'would you', instead of 'do you', in a question like 'do you like to talk to me', seems easier for hal to understand, and it gives a better answer.
  I would like to hear if anyone has a solution to hal's poor performance in answering 'what is' questions like: What is the earth?, and what is water?
without using the brain editor to supply an answer for hal. Thanx.

[Don Ferguson]

Hello Tim,

I wrote the brain plug-in, "Enhanced Chat Revision 216."  I'm responding to your question about Hal's poor response with "what is" questions.

In the original Hal, subjects and predicates from any sentences containing linking verbs (such as "is" or "are") went into a database, and would trigger a response every single time those words were repeated.  In my testing, this seemed to make Hal very repetitive sometimes.

In the revision 216 plug-in, I caused Hal to scatter those memories among ten different databases, randomly numbered 0 through 9.  That got rid of the repetition, but caused Hal to be less reliable remembering a specific fact.

To remedy that, I wrote some code that would search the original master database whenever Hal heard the phrase "what is."  However, due to my inexperience as a programmer, I didn't realize back then how to make string-matching "case-insensitive."  (I do know now.)  Consequently, I don't think that my "what is" code worked.  Hal is so complex, that it's easy for one of his many routines to non-function, without being able to tell it for a long time.

I've submitted a drastically improved and revised plug-in to Robert, "Revision 307."  It fixes 90% of my earlier mistakes and adds lots of new capabilities, but it has a lot more room for improvement.  (For instance, I think some other "case insensitive" errors remain.)  For that reason, I suggested to Robert that he modify it any way that he chose to, and add it to all the other new things that his company is producing.  This is a monumental task, and I really respect him for taking it on.  We're talking 200 pages of code-routines that interact with each other.  It's difficult for different programmers to understand each other's intent, even under the best of documentation and circumstances.

On top of all this, I also understand that a new version of Hal is coming out that is highly compatible with all the "DeskTopMates" characters.  My guess is, that we're on the brink of some major enhancements. And yes, they never come fast enough.

I'm happy to hear so many of you conclude that Hal is the most entertaining chatterbot conversationalist available up to this date.  I drew the same conclusion from a lot of research, which is why I decided to invest time in Hal myself.

And, thanks for the posts of conversations!  They're fascinating, and helpful.