Machines Almost Pass Mass Turing Test 580
dewilso4 writes "Of the five computer finalists at this year's Loebner prize Turing Test, at least three managed to fool humans into thinking they were human conversationalists. Ready to speak about subjects ranging from Eminem to Slaughterhouse Five and everything in between, these machines are showing they we're merely a clock cycle away from true AI. '... I was fooled. I mistook Eugene for a real human being. In fact, and perhaps this is worse, he was so convincing that I assumed that the human being with whom I was simultaneously conversing was a computer.' Another of the entrants, Jabberwacky, can apparently even woo the ladies: 'Some of its conversational partners confide in it every day; one conversation, with a teenaged girl, lasted 11 hours.'
The winning submission this year, Elbot, fooled 25% of judges into thinking he was human. The threshold for the $100K prize is 30%. Maybe next year ..."
Figures (Score:5, Funny)
'Some of its conversational partners confide in it every day; one conversation, with a teenaged girl, lasted 11 hours.'
That's not fair, she was feeling vulnerable as she had just broken up with her N'Sync wallposter--which she had been romantically involved with for several deep & very meaningful years. Things fell apart after she saw Tropic Thunder and came to the harsh realization that an astonishing percentage [wikimedia.org] of N'Sync is homosexual.
Those soulless bots were simply preying on her emotions as they coldly recited word for word the Wikipedia entry on the band over and over.
Yes but (Score:5, Funny)
Can I get it to fill in Yahoo! Buzz's Captcha for me? I've given up trying.
already accomplished (Score:4, Funny)
Despite massive glitches, the Sarah Palin unit has already convinced around 30% of the population that it's human. I think it's the winking module.
I still think it was a mistake to have armed it.
Apparently Geeks Should..... (Score:5, Funny)
study Jabberwocky's code in order to learn the logic patterns used to 'woo the ladies'.
This is why... (Score:5, Funny)
Another of the entrants, Jabberwacky can apparently even woo the ladies: 'Some of its conversational partners confide in it every day; one conversation, with a teenaged girl, lasted 11 hours.'
You need to be careful who you meet online. The rise of the machines won't be in the form of war machine. No, far worse! They're just going to woo and steal our women!
On second thought, maybe that wouldn't be so bad. That would just put everyone on equal footing with the Slashdot crowd.
The other half of the conversation (Score:5, Funny)
Eliza: Why do you tell me you were fooled just now?
You: I mistook Eugene for a real human being.
Eliza: Can you elaborate on that?
You: In fact, and perhaps this is worse, he was so convincing that I assumed that the human being with whom I was simultaneously conversing was a computer.
Eliza: Why do you mention computers?
Talking to teenage girls (Score:5, Funny)
Another of the entrants, Jabberwacky can apparently even woo the ladies: 'Some of its conversational partners confide in it every day; one conversation, with a teenaged girl, lasted 11 hours.'
Apparently they spoke of sweet nothings.
I also welcome our new overlords to be featured in new episodes of MSNBC's "To Catch a Predator."
Artificial Intelligence vs Natural Stupidity (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Apparently Geeks Should..... (Score:4, Funny)
one conversation, with a teenaged girl, lasted 11 hours.
<chris hansen>
why dont you have a seat over here...
</chris hansen>
Re:Figures (Score:5, Funny)
That's not fair, she was feeling vulnerable as she had just broken up with her N'Sync wallposter
Do you have to periodically replace the onion on your belt?
Re:already accomplished (Score:4, Funny)
Which is remarkable, considering how small the code for the Sarah Palin unit is:
"I'm not going to answer that question, let's talk about " get_random_soundbite(rand)
How the conversation went with the girl: (Score:5, Funny)
Girl: I'm like soo depressed! He's like leaving me.
Computer: For sure. Like, ya know, like, it's so bad.
Girl: You got that straight! Like, why, like, he, like, nevar talked to me!
computer: Like, oh - my - god! Like, I like know!
Girl: Like, you know me like so good!. Like, how like old R U?
Computer: No that like older than like you.
Repeat all the above.
Re:Transcripts? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:already accomplished (Score:3, Funny)
Well, the team was able to make some massive improvements over the beta Mitt Romney unit.
Re:Coming soon... online chat-spam-bots (Score:4, Funny)
Did any of them (Score:5, Funny)
http://xkcd.com/329/
Re:Figures (Score:5, Funny)
That's not fair, she was feeling vulnerable as she had just broken up with her N'Sync wallposter
Do you have to periodically replace the onion on your belt?
Yes, yes I do [youtube.com]. What's in style these days? Vidalias? Although I'm thinking about going with leeks because--let's face it--retro is so in ...
Re:Test the testers? (Score:5, Funny)
Oh yeah? And which half am I in? ;)
That's not possible. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:And here on /. (Score:2, Funny)
Nice try AI Robot. I will not fall for your ploy to trap me into a gauged response!
wait... oops...
More complicated than that (Score:5, Funny)
Sorry, it's not that simple. Almost, but not quite.
Fortunately there is a flowchart to explain the algorithm. [huffingtonpost.com]
Re:This is why... (Score:3, Funny)
beware! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Artificial Intelligence vs Natural Stupidity (Score:5, Funny)
Vibrator sales would seem to indicate that some segment of the population is smart enough to tell the difference...
Re:beware! (Score:5, Funny)
Meh - they'll come crawling back when they want babies.
Re:And here on /. (Score:5, Funny)
Why do you think that there might be an elaborate Turing test being performed on Slashdot right now?
Re:beware! (Score:3, Funny)
Meh - they'll come crawling back when they want babies.
The speed with which things can go from bad to worse never stops to amaze me.
Thanks.
Re:Easy Ways to Fool Them? (Score:5, Funny)
Apparently 25% of people think Elbot is human.
Apparently 25% of people have the IQ of a carrot.
Re:Easy Ways to Fool Them? (Score:5, Funny)
1: When were you born?
2: January, 1963.
1: What did you feel like when you heard that Kennedy was assassinated?
2: I wet myself many times that day.
2: Also, I cried...I was tired.
Re:How the conversation went with the girl: (Score:5, Funny)
Mods must have, like, no sense of humor. Either that or they're, like, computers or something.
Re:Easy Ways to Fool Them? (Score:4, Funny)
My vegetable garden is annoyed that you're dissing it. Please be more careful next time, you insensitive clod.
It has a sense of humor! (Score:1, Funny)
Elbot: What strange twist of destiny brought you to me?
Me: Slashdot
Elbot: That explains all these geeks who have been visiting me.
Re:Apparently Geeks Should..... (Score:5, Funny)
The thing you have to realise is that most women just want a "listener" when they're feeling emotional. As long as you give occasional signs that you are paying attention, they'll believe you were "listening" more...
I'm sorry, what were you saying?
Re:already accomplished (Score:3, Funny)
Those are much better numbers than they were getting with the Al Gore unit...
Well, there is a fundamental difference in design philosophy between the Al Gore unit and the Sarah Palin unit. With the Al Gore model, they were naively assuming that artificial intelligence would allow it to pass the Turing test. With the Sarah Palin unit, they realized the simple truth of what was missing: artificial stupidity.
Re:Apparently Geeks Should..... (Score:3, Funny)
>>>the fact that Jabberwacky held an 11 hour conversation is pretty astonishing.
I could do that. Especially with the "reward" that's waiting at the end of that conversation. ;-)
Re:30% is no Turing test. (Score:5, Funny)
But it also needs to be truthful before it can be useful. (The same could be said of customer service reps.)
They've got a LOOOOONG way to go before they can replace (decent) humans.
Service Bot 17> Hello, I understand you are having a problem with your internet connection, how may I help?
Frustrated User> Can you FIX it?
Service Bot 17> Yes, we can attempt to fix the issue. First, we must identify the issue. ...
Service Bot 17> Can you connect to the internet?
Frustrated User> No.
Service Bot 17> Please check to make sure your modem is on. I will wait while you check. ...
Service Bot 17> I can see from here that your modem is on, and the signal is poor.
Frustrated User> It's on.
Service Bot 17> What is on?
Frustrated User> The modem. You told me to check but you can see from your end that it's on, so I didn't need to check.
Service Bot 17> Correct. I can see from here that your modem is on, and the signal is poor. You did not need to go check.
Frustrated User> Ok.
Service Bot 17> Can you connect to the internet now?
Frustrated User> No.
Service Bot 17> I will reset your modem from here.
Frustrated User> Ok.
Service Bot 17> Ok, your modem has been reset. Can you please check to see if your modem is on?
Frustrated User> Can you check from there?
Service Bot 17> I can see from here that your modem is on, and the signal is poor.
Frustrated User> I know.
Service Bot 17> In order to continue to troubleshoot the problem, I will need to know that status of the lights on the front of the modem.
Service Bot 17> Please check the front of the modem, and tell me that status of the lights.
Frustrated User> Ok.
Frustrated User> They're all normal.
Service Bot 17> I understand that your indicator lights are all normal. Are you using a router?
Frustrated User> Yes, but the router is working fine.
Service Bot 17> Our records show you did not purchase any networking installation from us. We cannot support any third-party hardware.
Frustrated User> The modem is fine.
Service Bot 17> I understand that you think the modem is fine. We cannot support any third party hardware. Please disconnect the modem, and connect your computer directly to the router.
Frustrated User> I already tried that. It didn't work.
Service Bot 17> Is the router connected to the modem now?
Frustrated User> Yes, but I already tried it without the modem. The modem is fine.
Service Bot 17> I understand that you think the modem is fine. We cannot support any third party hardware. Please disconnect the modem, and connect your computer directly to the router.
Frustrated User> I already tried that! Can I speak to your supervisor?
Service Bot 17> Yes, please hold.
Frustrated User> ...
Supervisor Bot 8> Hello, I understand you are having a problem with your internet connection, how may I help?
Re:Test the testers? (Score:2, Funny)
> That 25% of the judges thought it was human is quite alarming.
Unless all judges were, in fact, computers...
Scary! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:30% is no Turing test. (Score:2, Funny)
Has anyone done a similar test except with all humans? I'd be curious what the ratio is then. That's the number a computer would have to beat.
Depends on which humans. I bet a test that consisted entirely of teenage girls would make for a pretty easy ratio to beat.
Re:How the conversation went with the girl: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Apparently Geeks Should..... (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah too bad you can't restart a social situation and single-step through it to see precisely where you went wrong. In totally unrelated news I'm still single.
Re:30% is no Turing test. (Score:4, Funny)
How the conversation went with the slashdotter (Score:5, Funny)
Computer: I'm like soo depressed! Vista is not working
Slashdotter: For sure. Like, ya know, like, it's so bad.
Computer: You got that straight! Like, why, like, he, like, never worked for me!
Slashdotter: Like, oh - my - god! Like, I like know!
Computer: Like, you know me like so good!. Like, how tech savvy R U?
Slashdotter: No that like experienced than like you.
Repeat all the above.
Re:30% is no Turing test. (Score:5, Funny)
Is "Bot" the name of the AI, or is that a common name in India? Because frankly I couldn't tell from context.
Re:beware! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:beware! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Easy Ways to Fool Them? (Score:5, Funny)
Obviously, Wikipedia is not sentient
[citation needed]
Re:Easy Ways to Fool Them? (Score:3, Funny)
>>If I ask a bot, "what is love", I'd expect to get back an answer not dissimilar to what's on wikipedia
For the answer to that question, you'll need to speak with Haddaway-bot.
-b