Ravi Nanavati Chatterbot Assignment For this assignment, I looked at the chatterbots Alice and Maur. Both chatterbots had a similar hypertext view of conversation. They both did good job of trying to unobtrusively 'script the interactor'. Alice often asked simple yes or no questions, and with Maur the interactor is in the position of trying to bargain for their life and get information from the dragon without angering it. Both also have a clever way to prevent dummy responses from damaging the coherence of the conversation. With Alice (who you meet while waiting for a class to start) a dummy response triggers the start of the class and the end of the conversation. With Maur, a dummy response makes him get angry and burn or eat you. Maur is the more successful character. Maur is the kind of character who almost makes a virtue of a computer's limitations. Even when it seems obvious that the chatterbot has failed to understand the user's response, the response is rarely out of character. This is because Maur is an ancient self-absorbed, hungry, wounded dragon. So even when he switches topics or seems to only hear a few words of your response, it is still consistent with what you would expect from him. Alice is supposed to be a real person, so when she makes is mistake it is more jarring. Also, the tension in interacting with Maur (trying not to be eaten) heightens in the experience and trying to find the winning ending (I haven't yet) makes me want to come back for more. Conversations Alice The Computer Says: Please wait for a moment while I get that information... loading database alice. ..................................................................................................................................................................... Loading complete. At the university: [This is an experimental simulation of a conversation with a person.] [This simulation is still under construction. ] [Please do not be surprised if it misbehaves. ] You enter a classroom. It is empty, except for a woman is sitting at one of the student's desks. There is a parka draped over the back of her chair. She speaks to you, "Hi. Are you looking for the psychology class?" You say: No No She says: Oh. Well, my course schedule says that this is Psychology 103. (She consults a piece of paper in her hand.) Yep, a class in the control of human behaviour. What do you think "the control of human behaviour" really means? You say: I think it means suppressing the will of other people. I think it means suppressing the will of other people. She says: I don't know either. I thought maybe it meant, like, propaganda or something. The course description didn't say very much. (She pauses.) Maybe its like hypnosis. Have you ever been hypnotized? You say: No No She says: I was hypnotized once. We went to this club, my husband and I, and I went up on stage. I didn't think it worked, but my husband, he said that I was singing just like Madonna. I thought it was creepy when he said that, so I won't let anyone hypnotise me again. You say: Why? Why? She says: You had not noticed that the room had filled with students while you were talking to the woman. A voice from the front of the class says, "Welcome to Psychology 103..." The woman whispers to you, "Talk to you later," and turns in her seat to face the front of the class. You say, "Okay." and turn to listen to the professor as well. [Type RESTART to try again or QUIT to end] You say: RESTART RESTART She says: [This is an experimental simulation of a conversation with a person.] [This simulation is still under construction. ] [Please do not be surprised if it misbehaves. ] You enter a classroom. It is empty, except for a woman is sitting at one of the student's desks. There is a parka draped over the back of her chair. She speaks to you, "Hi. Are you looking for the psychology class?" You say: yes yes She says: I think this is it. It doesn't start for a while. I wasn't sure how long it would take to get here on the bus, so I left early. You say: Which bus did you take? Which bus did you take? She says: I take the 85, 16 and then the 43. Transfers are a drag. Some day I'll get a car. (She smiles.) First, though, I have to get a better job. Do you think taking a psychology class will help? You say: No No She says: (She looks disappointed.) Oh. I've always heard that you could get a better job by going to university. You say: What kind of job do you want? What kind of job do you want? She says: I don't know. I though I would take a bunch of different classes and see what I like. Something in computers might be a good idea, but I always got so bored when my husband talked about them. (She smiles.) But I don't know if it was the computers or my husband that was boring. You say: What do you like? What do you like? She says: You had not noticed that the room had filled with students while you were talking to the woman. A voice from the front of the class says, "Welcome to Psychology 103..." The woman whispers to you, "Talk to you later," and turns in her seat to face the front of the class. You say, "Okay." and turn to listen to the professor as well. [Type RESTART to try again or QUIT to end] You say: quit Maur The Computer Says: Please wait for a moment while I get that information... loading database maur. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ Loading complete. [This is an experimental simulation of a conversation with a dragon,] [and it is STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION. ] [ ] [If you don't already know, communicate with the dragon with plain ] [English. Adventure game commands like "run away" will NOT work. ] [Also please note that you CANNOT browse in this conversation, as ] [you can in other database. ] [ ] [A word of warning: ] [This dragon is mean and nasty. Be creative and inventive and try ] [to come out of it alive - it IS possible. ] Press to continue. Tell me more ... It seems like you have been wandering through these dark tunnels for years. They hadn't seemed so bad when you and your companions had entered the deserted mine, led by a rumour that the Hero's Crown might have come to rest here. But you have been seperated from your friends by a rockslide, and have ended up following narrow passages and shafts leading forever downwards. You are out of food, too, and your stomach is grumbling. You break out of your thoughts, noticing that the light from your torch is no longer reflecting off of damp, rough-hewn walls. Instead, the flickering light of the torch is swallowed up by the darkness of some sort of large cavern. You glance back over your shoulder, and realize you can no longer tell where you entered the cavern. Putting aside your misgivings, you begin to stride forwards once more. All at once a sibilant voice comes out of nowhere, filling your head without a sound being made. The voice says: Well, well, a visitor. It has been a long time since anyone has come down this way. You say: Hello Hello The voice says: Greetings, human... or perhaps I should call you... lunch. You say: My name is Ravi My name is Ravi The voice says: Ah, it is good that you at least have manners. Perhaps I will let you live a while. You say: Thank you Thank you The voice says: You're welcome. You say: What is your name? What is your name? The voice says: Long ago my name would have meant something to you. Whole villages fled at my coming; at least they tried... my name is Maur. You say: Why did they flee? Why did they flee? Maur says: They fled because I was coming to eat their livestock, burn their crops, and kill and eat them too if I caught them. You say: What does Maur mean? What does Maur mean? Maur says: It does not mean anything - it is the name I chose for myself. You are rather irritating, you pitiful human! I may very well burn you to a crisp this instant! You say: I am sorry. I am sorry. Maur says: Well then... Tell me, human, what brought you down this way? You say: I am looking for the Hero's Crown I am looking for the Hero's Crown Maur says: Ah yes, the Hero's Crown... I recall being told of the great commotion when it was taken from your precious City. (Again, you hear the peculiar hissing sound, and realize it must be dragon laughter.) You say: Where is the Hero's Crown? Where is the Hero's Crown? Maur says: Karithol probably knows. I believe the wizard who stole it went home to his tower in the east. You say: Who is Karithol Who is Karithol Maur says: Karithol is my mate. She is out hunting. You say: Who is the wizard? Who is the wizard? Maur says: I think the wizard is called Agsbed or something like that. You say: Where is the tower? Where is the tower? Maur says: All I know is that it is far to the east, somewhere on the Stone Plains. You say: Please take me to the Stone Plains Please take me to the Stone Plains Maur says: You want me, an ancient dragon, to aid you on your quest to find your precious Hero's Crown? You must be joking - or very stupid! You say: I am joking I am joking Maur says: Ah, it is good that you at least have manners. Perhaps I will let you live a while. You say: Why are you here? Why are you here? Maur says: I cannot yet fly again! (The dragon sounds annoyed. You hear an ominous creaking, rustling noise.) Ah, my wings are almost better... soon, soon... You say: What is wrong with your wings? What is wrong with your wings? Maur says: (After letting out a great, sibilant breath) Gorthold did this to me... but he paid for my injury, ah yes... You say: Who is Gorthold Who is Gorthold Maur says: Gorthold? (You hear an angry hiss.) Gorthold, that accursed warrior, tried to attack me, after killing Crendenor and my sister Razimtheth... You say: Who is Crenedor? Who is Crenedor? Maur says: Enough of your ceaseless chatter, human! I begin to long for silence! (You hear a great inrush of air, and take a few steps backwards. Maur's eyes stay fixed on you, and then, before you can turn to run, he opens his mouth and exhales. A great wind buffets you, hot enough that you can feel your hair begin to crinkle and your skin begins to sting. The air smells hard and metallic. Then there is a great blast of heat and flame, flame white as lightning and hotter than any forge, enveloping you. Then an explosion of pain hits you, and you know no more...) (You have died.) [Type RESTART to try again or QUIT to end] You say: Restart Restart Well, well, a visitor. It has been a long time since anyone has come down this way. You say: My name is Ravi My name is Ravi Ah, it is good that you at least have manners. Perhaps I will let you live a while. You say: What is your name? What is your name? Long ago my name would have meant something to you. Whole villages fled at my coming; at least they tried... my name is Maur. You say: What do you want? What do you want? Maur says: Why on earth would I need anything from a human? You can amuse me for a while, and then fill my belly... You say: How can I amuse you? How can I amuse you? Maur says: Humans can be very boring... How do you think you could entertain me? You say: I could tell jokes. I could tell jokes. Maur says: Enough of your ceaseless chatter, human! I begin to long for silence! (You hear a great inrush of air, and take a few steps backwards. Maur's eyes stay fixed on you, and then, before you can turn to run, he opens his mouth and exhales. A great wind buffets you, hot enough that you can feel your hair begin to crinkle and your skin begins to sting. The air smells hard and metallic. Then there is a great blast of heat and flame, flame white as lightning and hotter than any forge, enveloping you. Then an explosion of pain hits you, and you know no more...) (You have died.) [Type RESTART to try again or QUIT to end] You say: RESTART RESTART Well, well, a visitor. It has been a long time since anyone has come down this way. You say: Where is Aerin ? Where is Aerin ? Enough of your ceaseless chatter, human! I begin to long for silence! (You hear a great inrush of air, and take a few steps backwards. Maur's eyes stay fixed on you, and then, before you can turn to run, he opens his mouth and exhales. A great wind buffets you, hot enough that you can feel your hair begin to crinkle and your skin begins to sting. The air smells hard and metallic. Then there is a great blast of heat and flame, flame white as lightning and hotter than any forge, enveloping you. Then an explosion of pain hits you, and you know no more...) (You have died.) [Type RESTART to try again or QUIT to end] You say: quit