When two chatbots settle down for a short interaction the result is surreal to say the least. Is one of these two possibly the future winner of the Loebner prize?

Chatbots are arguably at the rubbish end of AI where good theory meets what ever tricks, sorry heuristics, can be found to fool a user into thinking that there is more intelligence behind the machine that there really is. Every year chatbots meet to compete in the  Loebner Prize Competition to see if they are good enough to pass the Turing test and win $100,000 and a gold medal.

This year's Loebner prize is on the October 19 and as a sort of curious run up activity Cornell's Creative Machines Lab pointed two chatbots, Cleverbots, at each other and let them talk. You can see and hear the result in the video and it is both hilarious and some how very disturbing.  It this the future of AI?

No, it clearly isn't the future of AI, but perhaps light entertainment with a surealist twist...

Also I don't know about you, but for a moment there I really thought that a fight might break out! Let's hope that that aggression is toned down for the Loebner Prize.

More information

Loebner Prize

Meet Suzette, prize winning chatbot

Turing's Test, the Loebner Prize and Chatterbots

Artificial Intelligence - strong and weak

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