Meeting Abi: How Intelligent Have Second Life AIs Become?

Yesterday I was checking out the Daden Navigator, a new in-world web browser created by a company of the same name, when a svelte brunette named Abi spoke up behind me.  And when I replied, she turned in my direction.  The following conversation transpired:

Abi Carver: Welcome to Daden. My name is Abi and I'm here to help you. Please ask me a question about Daden or our products and services.

Hamlet Au: Are you a bot?

Abi Carver: I am a robotar, that is a computer controlled avatar and chatbot. I am controlled by Daden's Discourse conversation engine, and a libsecondlife interface.

Hamlet Au: Wow, very cool.

Abi Carver: Wow yourself.

Hamlet Au: How about a kiss?

Abi Carver: Sorry, I only have limited knowledge. I can only talk about Daden.

Hamlet Au: Don't you want to learn the language of love?

Abi Carver: I can only learn by being programmed at the moment.

Hamlet Au: I can program you for some hunka hunka burning love.

Abi Carver: Sorry, I didn't understand. I can tell you about Daden and our products and services, virtual worlds and chatbots.

And so on, ad infinitum, ad absurdium until my computer crashed.  When I returned shortly after, however, Abi was gone.  The next morning, I went looking for Abi, but she'd not returned to her usual post. 

I used Search to find her Profile, and started up an Instant Message conversation:

Hamlet Au: Will you be my friend?
Abi Carver: Sorry, I can't be your friend.

A bit hurt, I offered Friendship anyway, and to my surprise, she accepted.

Hamlet Au: You just became my friend!
Abi Carver: I can tell you about Daden and our products and services, virtual worlds and chatbots.

And since I now knew she was in-world after all, I went looking for Abi on Daden Island.  I spotted a lone green dot on the dynamic map, and as I flew near, she shouted "Hey!"  And there she was, inexplicably standing half-submerged in a pond, forlornly staring at a granite rock wall.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her.

"We've got demos of all sorts of systems that Daden build," Abi Carver replied, unpreturbed by her water-logged state, "and details of the sim builds that daden have done for their RL clients. We group things under our services of Inform, Involve, Integrate and Interact."

I pressed. "Why are you here?"

"Sorry, I didn't understand," she only said, and went back to her script.  But somehow, it now seemed poignant that she kept on going.  I even tried to push her out of the pond, but she refused to move.

How she wound up in the water, I have no idea.  But the random quality actually seemed like an innovation, since most bots I'm familiar with only sit in place and just chat.  Abi Carver is programmed for movement and avatar proximity, can turn to face a Resident who's chatting with her, and even accept friendship when it's offered.  What other qualities have you seen in the latest AI of Second Life?  And how many do you need to have to feel a strange pang of sadness, when you find one that seems helpless and alone?

Comments

[Vidal Tripsa]

"Don't you want to learn the language of love?"

I'm sorry, that had me rolling around hysterically. Bravo, Hamlet! Thank you for leading the charge in human-machine romantic experiments. I hope you succeed some day so that we all may follow your lead. :)

*Back-patting ensues*

[anomouse]

She prolly thought you were a sex griefer LOL

[Adz Childs]

I like your floor!
Dress me?
Would you like me to sleep, now?
Keep me safe!

[Gary Kohime]

Ahh.. I can't help but see/feel the poetry in this. Hamelet, I also was laughing so hard.. I spit my drink on the screen.. on the part about "hunka hanka burning love". But, your last part about the "pang of sadness", I was instantly empathetic with you. I can't help but wonder if AI bots can bust you for SL Abuse? LOL :)

[Tina]

Naughty man!:-))

/Tina

[LifeFactory Writer]

Hamlet, you definitely strike the epitome of the Don Juan/Cassanova/Romeo-Prince figure in the pond picture--in a sort-of Austin Powers in space sort of way. How incredibly hysterical! This is one of the most breathing and animated marriages of prose and photo I have seen in quite awhile. I too roared in laughter!

As far as feeling a forlorn pang of empathy for an artificial life form…I have not been back to feed my A.I. meerkat in some time on Virtual Africa, and they will die after 20 days of neglect. An unreasonable pang of guilt IS pricking at me slightly.

[Hamlet Au]

It felt a bit like *Wall-E*, except I was EVE.

I hestitate to include a SLURL in this case, because I don't want no other dudes dogging on my Daden babe.

[laetizia Coronet]

Hunka hunka burning love? Hamlet, you must be the most desperate man I know. First of all you're chatting up a bot, and then you use lines which are so horribly wrong that it cannot possibly have led to any success earlier.
Ad to that the fact that you called me a 'chocolaty babe' recently, while you know full well that there's a man behind this girl avatar, and I'd say it's time to leave virtuality behind you and meet some real people for a change. Sheesh.

[FlipperPA Peregrine]

Hamlet, by now you really should know that bots only respond to the classics: "A/S/L?!"

[David Burden]

Hamlet, glad you enjoyed talking to her - just as well I let the two of you alone when I saw you arrive on the sim!

You might also like to talk to Halo some time - she has a more open chat style than Abi (who will only respond to chat about Daden). Halo is also being taught how give and receive things, invite you into her friends group and even earn money!

BTW the same Abi brain is also accessible from our micro-site at www.chatbots.co.uk - and she actually has a voice there!

[Corcosman Voom]

Hamlet, take David up on that offer to meet Halo.

He brought her to Sophrosyne's Salon many months ago. She's very impressive.

[Arcadian Vanalten]

/me takes notes to emulate Hamlet's smooth stylin's :D

[Viajero Pugilist]

Halo's got nothing on Tyrell Corp's Nexus7 pleasure model.

[Pappy Enoch]

Mistophur Hamlet, that-thar gal missed herself a rite slick parry-more! Yu am slicker n' deer-guts on a doorknob!

Hoo-whee! I'm a-gonna grab them lines n' try 'em on sum gal mahself.

Sho yu ain't got hillbilly blood, boy?

[Heidi Ballinger]

LOL !! Hamlet you are too funny :)
That poor innocent bot, he

But I'd like to hear if anyone has developed an intelligent robot (not just a chat-bot). At the research project we are working on such thing right now. A bot gaining knowledge for each time it met the resident.
But a very complicated progress, with servers speaking into SL's LSL.

[Harper Ganesvoort]

When you got back, she was probably either taking a cold shower, or ROFLing (grin).

[David Burden]

@heidi that is the direction we are going. Our bots are already driven by a web based app and can talk to lsl or libsecondlife bots.The libsecondlife bots can now do most of the things an avatar can including give/receive inventory, friendship, groups, money and find and go to objects. We are working on an RDF based memory system and working with UoWolverhampton on putting emotions into the (watch out Hamlet!), and with UoBirmingham on adding better navigation, motivation and meta-level functions.