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Name:
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Cecil Proulx
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Age:
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62
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Sex:
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Male
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State:
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Costa Mesa, California
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Country:
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USA
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E-mail:
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cproulx@attbi.com
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Chatterbots
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Hillbilly Hank
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What gave you the idea of developing a bot?
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Seeing other bots on the internet.
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Is creating bots a passion for you? A hobby?
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It hasn't become a passion as of now. I've just been
involved with this for a couple of months. It's a hobby for the time being. I will
see where it leads. It's fun and challenging so far.
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When did you start creating bots? Why?
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About two months ago. Why? For the intellectual
challenge.
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What language is your bot programmed in?
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Javascript.
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How much time do you spend working on your bot per week/month/year?
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For the past month, about
35 hours per week. Before that, about 4 hours per week.
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In your opinion, what are the best qualities of your bot?
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It is very new, but it has a
personality and I think I can develop this with a little time.
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What is your ultimate goal for your bot?
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To make it entertaining for users, and to teach me
as much as possible about the practical side of artificial intelligence.
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How do you see chatterbots being used in the future?
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That's an entirely different focus. I
think they will soon replace many people who merely serve as phone receptionists and even
software and service technicians throughout all of the corporate world. Think about it: no
coffee breaks, no back talk, no sleep requirements, never a nasty reply to a customer; and
totally accurate in what it "knows". I think it will be a major step forward for business and
also, maybe even more so, for customers. It will shorten if not eliminate waiting queues. Now,
add to that some pleasing aesthetics, a sensual voice, a lovely image on the screen (for men;
handsome for women) and you've got some MAJOR improvement over the existing scene. That's one
area.
The other major area: NOT all-knowing bots, but SPECIALIZED bots that know as much as possible
about a given specific area. These will be able to "talk" to other bots to get information out
of their area of specialization. We are gong to see an explosion in readily accessible
information, presented in a front-end "bot" package that is pleasing, intelligent, totally
responsive.
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Can chatterbots replace humans?
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Not entirely; but in specific areas they will certainly
surpass humans for usefulness, as I have indicated above.
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What is your favorite bot memory?
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At this point, I don't have any particularly notable
memories. I get a kick out of some of the responses of Chat-Bot, and the saucy, off-the-wall
responses from Jabberwacky. They are just plain fun. I don't care a whit about whether they can
do math or answer obscure questions. They have personality and are fun. They are the two best
out there in my opinion. They carry on a better conversation than some of the bots which have
such extensive knowledge bases. But who really wants that from Chatterbots. Their attraction
is as their description implies; something to CHAT with. Verbal tete a tete. If you want to
get info, you go to Google, Dictionary.com, Encyclopedia.com, etc.
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What was your worst bot moment?
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Never had one.
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