Cleverbot

NPR's Radiolab is a great educational podcast that explores a range of topics from the darkness of space to a form of dementia that begins with huge bursts of creativity.  This particular episode was about a website called Cleverbot.  If you don't already know, Cleverbot is a computer program that will have a conversation with you.  What makes Cleverbot unique, though, is that it learns through experience, becoming more efficient at mimicking real people as time goes by.  In fact, it is very close to passing the Turing Test.


Here's a sample from Cleverbot:

Is spirituality important in the age of machines?

Sorry don't know.

What should I do to make sure I live until I'm 100?

You should tell me more about yourself.

I think it's better at questions with more concrete answers:

What are sidewalks made out of?

Whatever human arms are made out of- flesh and bone.

What material should I use to make a sidewalk?

Honestly, I don't think you can answer that. OK, I give up.  I think it has a bit more progress to make :)