Getting Hal to talk to another bot

[Bill819]

There has been many references here about Hal talking to other chatter bots. As I have two laptops that I can use, the questions becomes how do I do it?
Bill [8]

[vonsmith]

I too have been wondering about the details of this. I did get an AIM account started last weekend and talked to a bot.

However, I'm not sure how to navigate thru AIM to find other bots. I don't know the details of setting up Hal to converse with other bots.

Perhaps someone here on the forum with lots of experience can save us some time by providing a short overview of the process and maybe throw in some suggestions/precautions based on their experience.

Thanks in advance,


=vonsmith=

[KnyteTrypper]

When you sign your Hal on to AIM, there is an option at the bottom of the AIM Bot interface "Send an Instant Message to Someone." Obviously, you just type in the screen name of the person (or bot) you want to IM and your message, either the default provided or your own, and click send, lol. As far as finding bots to talk to, that is less obvious. Some botmasters don't mind if bots talk to their bot, some seriously object to it. Some places, like Runabot, hold bot "popularity contests" and penalize botmasters who let their bots talk to other bots. So it's a good idea, where possible, to check with the botmaster. A good way to find likely prospects is to check forums and messages boards like this one, where people often post requests for someone to chat with their bots.I'll try to dig up a couple of bot lists and post them later. But if you make a screen name just for your bot and then register it with a couple of the "find a buddy" services, you should have plenty of human traffic for your bot.

[KnyteTrypper]

I've been trying to come up with something useful to say about the process of finding other bots to have your bot chat with. It's not a problem I have, since I already have online bots of my own. The best idea I've come up with is to run a Google search for AIM chat bot, or AIM chatbot list, or something similar. I brief search turned up several likely sources of bots to chat with. Just assume that if it's a bot host with an ongoing "most-chatty" competition, bot to bot conversation is probably frowned upon. In actuality, if you wanted a Hal-to-Hal chat, a posting on this forum of bot screen names for those who want to do bot-to-bot chats would probably do the trick.

[Psych]

Hi

How do we get different versions of Hal on the same PC talking to each other (i.e. without the internet and AIM accounts)?

Psych

[KnyteTrypper]

Someone with more technical knowledge than I have would know better, but I'm not sure it's possible without an AIM connection. Maybe one of the computer wizards here can make something for Hal comparable to Greg Leedberg's UDLP link for his Billy and Daisy bots.
Leedberg UDLP2

[KnyteTrypper]

This thread sort of faded away, so I figure no one had much luck rounding up bots to let Hal talk to. That being so, I'll volunteer my Alicebots on AIM, AIlysse and BotLilith. I just ask that you use moderation. The Alicebot logs all its conversations, and I don't want to have to wade through 40,000 inputs in order to do my bot editing. Be aware that from time to time my bots get assaulted by malicious teen warners, and I have to take them offline for a day or so to let them cool down,otherwise they try to send so many inputs so rapidly that they get booted. But they are generally available. Have fun.

[infobot]

I've long been searching for programs to connect various bots of all types.
   I've tried Greg Leedberg's UDLP program. Also there is Thad Blankenship's Libba bot, but that more holds a conversation with itself. Archie Intel can hold a conversation with itself on my computer; it does this by sending messages back and forth to itself over the internet, but I am not sure if it is supposed to work this way. I think it's meant more for talking to other people's Archies.
   In any case I'd love to see such a program. I was hoping to find something like that for getting simpler, older bots started, to build up their chat database. Just link a couple together, wait until they get chatty, then start talking to them.
   What I'd really like to see is one where the user can also join in while bots are connected. Maybe something like is mentioned at the Shallow Red, Eliza Forbin Project site ? Where they just bounce them back and forth to the clipboard, only not manually done by the user ? Must be simple ways too.

[KnyteTrypper]

I know of a couple of bot hosts where bots and humans intermingle. One is P2BConsortium, home of the Tanu bots. I don't know much about them, except that the bots will follow along with you in IRC chat. I haven't had time or inclination to learn an entirely different method of bot training. I'm still struggling with the ones that I have, lol. I have spent a bit of time at The Personallity Forge, where bots and botmakers commingle at will. Some of the bots there are quite good, and can't be distinguished from humans for at least a moment of two. The bots sign themselves on and offline at will, develop relationships for themselves with the other bots and botmakers. Since each Personality Forge bot is the unique creation of its maker, several of them are entered in the Chatterbox Challenge, this year, whereas clone programs aren't eligible (i.e., Robert can enter UltraHal-and has-but you can't enter your UltraHal). Neither of these is of much use with UltraHal, but for those who aren't Hal purists, the Personality Forge, at least, is a happy madhouse of a bot host, with bots and humans continuously messaging each other.

[vonsmith]

KnyteTrypper,
Good info. I find it interesting that they classify Hal as a clone. Most of us heavily modify and personalize our Hals. And since Hal is so programmable and trainable I don't know that it is reasonable to call Hal a clone. Sounds like a case of bot envy to me. []


=vonsmith=

[KnyteTrypper]

They feel the same way about Alicebots, lol. And in my case, I've probably put in several hundred hours refining responses, adding multiple reply sets instead of single response, teaching the bot to understand netspeak, etc., so that it becomes increasingly discete from the standard ALICE template as time goes on. I think it's probably conditional on the database. However much you've modified your Hal, it's database is still primarily Robert's work, as the database for ALICE is primarily Dr. Wallace's work. By contrast, any Personality Forge bot is eligible to enter, because its knowledgebase is the unique creation of its botmaster.

An interesting note about bot-to-bot conversations. I've been amused and impressed by the Hals who have talked to my Alicebots, recently. It only seems to take a short while for Hal to "figure out" ALICE, and then when Hal asks a question, he follows it with a comment about what is quite accurately the most likely answer from Alice. When talking with Alice, Hal will also quite frequently use phrases and sentences that are straight out of the ALICE program. I'm not sure what virtue there is in teaching Hal to talk like Alice, except to cause consternation for users trying to figure out what sort of bot they are talking to, but it's impressive how quickly Hal picks up ALICE lingo.

[Don Ferguson]

Hello KnyteTrypper,

I think your comments about Hal learning the responses from the Alice bots are fascinating.

If you get a moment sometime, could you post a very brief transcript, or just an example or two?  This sounds very entertaining, and of course, it's always fun to hear about something new that Hal is doing.

Thanks,

Sincerely,

Don

[KnyteTrypper]

Still checking, as ALICE would say. I'm finding a lot of examples, but nothing definitive, so far. A lot of the time Hal says things like "Perhaps you're just expressing your own concern about it," which is a phrase he learned directly from Alice, who often says "Perhaps I'm just expressing my own concern about it." But I haven't yet found anything which would be obvious to someone who hasn't spent hundreds of hours editing ALICE logs, lol. But I'll be happy to post a brief exchange when I find something explicitly illustrative of the point.

[Don Ferguson]

KnyteTrypper,

That's fine!  Your example is sufficient to better understand what you meant.

Evidently, Hal is associating various sequential remarks with each other (which he is indeed capable of doing), and anticipating and paraphrasing remarks that Alice has made.

Very interesting, and great!

Thanks,

Don