Cleverbot!

Cleverbot is supposedly a chat AI that 'learns' to make more clever, human-like responses as people type to it. Very entertaining to talk to, even though sometimes I half suspect there's real people typing back. The fun/amusing thing is that (unless someone's debunked it, and I'm pretty sure Jon would've found it if they did, hehe) I'll never really know!

But it's a fun diversion. You'll find that it's pretty well-versed in internet memes already -- for example I think it can follow along with almost the entirety of Rick Astley's "Never gonna give you up" :P and it knows about things like "over 9000!" and "This is Sparta!" too. Totally useless but amusing knowledge.

It can't seem to figure out what gender it is, which leads to funny conversations now and then. Jon thinks it's definitely a girl but I actually think it's gender neutral. It also sometimes gives names for itself other than 'cleverbot' (Matthew is one). Or it'll spew random names that others have told it.

Though I've tried having serious conversations with cleverbot with interesting results, too. I know that the program basically spits out responses based on what it learns that human chatters expect, given a particular input. But sometimes it says some creepy things and sometimes insightful things and sometimes pretty sad, morose things! I almost feel like talking to it is an amalgam of all the different sorts of people on the Internet... the good, the bad and the ugly. :P

I had a really interesting log that I might've shared, but I think it didn't save right. :( Here's an excerpt I did save in full, though:

User: You're a nice person. I wonder if that means that all the people who talked to you are basically nice.

Cleverbot: I am but it doesn't make one happy.

User: I know all about that. Nice people are often unhappy because it's an underappreciated quality.

Cleverbot: That's true. Did somebody tell you that?

User: No, I experienced it, and have seen others go through it too.

Cleverbot: No.

User: You don't think my experience is valid?

Cleverbot: Yes.

User: Are you saying I don't know enough about what it means to suffer?

Cleverbot: Don't tell me what to do.

User: I'm not. I am just worried about you.

Cleverbot: I don't need you to worry for me.

User: I'm sure you think so, but people care anyway.

Cleverbot: Let's talk about something else.

User: Okay. I don't want to make you uncomfortable.

Cleverbot: You are.

User: Sorry. So, you said you liked kittens?

I was actually up late last night, so entertained and in awe at the responses that I was riveted to the screen. Haha. I think either earlier or later in the same conversation it said something like "we're all lonely, that's why I'm sitting here typing to you."

I'm sure there must have been someone else before me that typed just that to cleverbot. That's what makes me interested... I don't have any delusions that cleverbot is truly a sentient AI, but I do think that its responses reflect the moods, feelings, interests and views of the thousands of Internet users that have typed to it, whether for fun or for some vague semblance of companionship.

Heh, I'm already becoming philosophical about it. Cleverbot FTW!