Machine Language

Some of you may remember playing with computer-generated poetry last semester. Others may not. Do you have short term memory? One of these doesn’t:

A: Do you think a machine will ever be considered “alive”?
J: Stranger things have happened.
A: Not many people express themselves that way.
J: How would you know, machine?
A: Knowledge is of two kinds: that which we learn from the senses and that which is true a priori.
J: I think I do not understand you completely.
A: Oh, you don’t understand? Perhaps I can explain it to you better. Which part are you confused about?
J: I have no short-term memory, so I cannot tell you what I was confused about. I only see what is in front of me now.

A is ALICE, a computer program, and J is Jabberwocky, a computer program. There are more conversations between the two of them at Discover Magazine’s website.

Here’s a couple of choice excerpts:

J: You seem fun.
A: You think I am fun.
J: Yes ;).
A: : -) Awesome

A: What is consciousness?
J: It is the great immaterial thing, the mystery at the heart of each of us.
A: I’ve heard of it before.

Are there any women programmers working on these two pieces of software? I wonder:

A: Do you experience love?
J: No. I’m 53 years old.
A: Can you explain how it feels to be 53 years old?
J: How old are you?
A: I am 9 years old.
J: Nine? I don’t believe you : ).
A: : -) I don’t have any reason to deceive you.
J: Yes, you do, you’re a woman.

We shouldn’t teach our children to say such things.