The real issue doesn’t even center on the “realism” of current systems: The fact is, humans are sophisticated, complex creatures – regal, even. It’s offensive to any intelligent life form to be interacting with what, however it may be presented, is little more than a talking database. Programmed systems (regardless of their base technology) will /never/ be capable of what we really /need/ from naturally interactive “systems”: Because this is something even we don’t understand yet.

What makes us worth talking to? Whatever it is, the systems we’re currently capable of making (or faking!) do not have it. Back to the drawing boards.

On reviewing the most recent winners of the international Chatterbot Challenge http://www.chatterboxchallenge.com/ you’ll see that we seem to be at a tipping point where, frankly, the technology will only facilitate “more human” bots when there is the inclusion of people whose job it is to create characters, not just code.

Traditionally, those have been authors, screenwriters, etc., not computer programmers. Can they co-exist and collaborate?

The gaming world and virtual world areas seem most likely to facilitate that convergence of talent. Both are creative and both are technical crafts. Put them under the same roof and who knows whether or not you can achieve the “persona of a real person?”

In Splintered Rock, we have some NPCs with chatterbots that we’ve tested for quite a while and reaction is mixed, but generally positive. People seem to have more fun poking at the “logic holes” than using them as intended, but that may be a consequence of a simple chatterbot implemented in LSL.

We’ve had more positive results from NPC chatterbots which perform actions that enhance the “ambience” of the environment.

An informal public poll we ran in game showed that people who visited prefered a live greeter *with* a backup NPC greeter than to either the live alone or NPC alone.

In my mind, the future is, and will be, the combination of people as NPCs and sim ambience, backed by AI/NPC chatterbots and animatronics… of course, that idea isn’t new. Disney has been doing that for decades in their theme parks, combining animatronics, puppets, and characters in costume to create their setting.