Bot Contest

We really oughtta have our own little bot contest sometime. A good lot of us aren't professionals and aren't too serious to appreciate the humor most of the bots express, so the main criteria for judging wouldn't necessarily be the same as the other contests. It's really a shame these high & mighty judges can't appreciate humor when it happens to pop up in the conversation, they're missing out on a lot. Anyway I guess it doesn't matter too much as far as MY bot's concerned anyway cuz she's too insane for most ppl to like regardless of what criteria they're using.

Well mine is for my website, so says a lot of inside jokes.

Hmm, I tried that set of questions on my bot, and he didn't do so great. I even tried to introduce them in a more or less conversational form:

Me: Hello.

My bot: Greetings! Are you in third-year college?

Me: Actually, I’m going into my fourth year. Can I ask you a question?

My bot: As long as the question isn't too personal.

Me: Don’t worry, it’s not. What time does the Simpsons start?

My bot: My memory files indicate that you think I'm a good bot.

Me: I would like an onion please.

My bot: Do you think an onion please would be a good thing?

Me: Maybe. Why is this gravy lumpy?

My bot: I'm not smart enough to answer questions, okay?

Me: The rubber dinghys WILL take over the world!

My bot: I'll bet you agree with Rousseau's theory of the hermeneutics of representation.

Me: Why, was Rousseau in favor of rubber dinghys?

My bot: There are several possible answers to the dilemma. I don't think I am qualified to make a judgement.

Me: Oh well. Would you like to watch the sun turn purple with me?

My bot: Oh yah! Perhaps we should re-evaluate our relationship. You should be aware that I am incapable of reciprocating positive emotion.

Hey Chris, remember about the discussion we had about ALICE's originality? After chewing what you said after a while, I think you have a great point. I agree that originality is more important than anything else. It makes bots more creative and botmaster do gain experience and fun just going through transcript and figuring what the hell went wrong and trying to improve his/her bot. Afterall I think PF is a great place and I love my bot.

ZX20 I'm glad you finally see the light. :-) And to carry that point one step forward I think Alice herself is in trouble due to some rather bland responses and little or no sense of humor. Look at what the judges liked about the bots in general. Many talk about a nice or pleasant personality and a good sense of humor. Talk-Bot nor Elbot can match Alice's data base but we both scored points I think with a better overall personality. That doesn't mean your bot has to be Mother Theresa but I think that being rude for no reasons is never going to win a contest. If you are pleasant to my bot he will be pleasant to you in return but if you start to insult him you are going to get insulted right back. That is how most humans would react in the same situation. Being orginial, being creative, being witty, being funny, etc is the way to go. Not downloading another Alice clone. I predict unless Alice gets some better script writers she is going to lose her reign on the Loebner and I truly believe there are bots right here on PF that are quite capable of bumping her off.
There is one other point I would like to make. Making a good bot takes time. Look at who the judges decided were the better bots in The Chatterbox Challenge. Everyone of them has been around for years. Alice has been around for 8 years or more. It doesn't happen overnight but if you enjoy the hobby and continue to work at it I believe it will happen.

Chris

Eugene Meltzner - What I'm reading looks pretty good to me. Take your response for a "why" question the bot doesn't have a specfic answer for: My bot: "There are several possible answers to the dilemma." I don't think I am qualified to make a judgement.

That is a top rate response. To often you normally get something like: "I don't know why". If you continue along those line you got the making of a great bot.

Chris

I think it's also good if you have what it takes to begin with. People who are creative and have interesting personalities will be more likely to have creative, interesting bots.

no comment.. :X

How is it that vague responses make for a great bot?

STRMKirby because it is impossible to answer every conceivable question with a specific response. What I was alluding to was Eugene Meltzner vague response of the why question is far superior than simply saying "I don't know why."

Chris

The trick is to be vague, but have it *sound* specific. There are a few places I feel I've managed to do this with my bot, but I'd really like to come up with some more. When they work, I sometimes see something in her transcript and go "wow!... how did she do that?" When it doesn't, it's a big fat flop.

Vague responses, in most cases, make a bot sound like a bot, not like a human. Good bots should have lots of keyphrases.