(Or, Trish talks to a monster bot).

In lieu of holiday reading, my ps288a professor asked our class to chat up an AI from Jabberwacky (http://www.jabberwacky.com)  and see just how far we can carry on a conversation with it, without – I suppose – losing our suspended disbelief at the artifice of it all. While the exercise was meant to discern the possibility of forging conversational relationships with non-humans, it also underscored the effects of technological mediations embedded in contemporary relationships. Or maybe I’m just thinking of how we rely so much on decontextualized activities like texting and chatting, and how they inevitably leave out subtle emotional nuances or blow things way out of proportion.

But I digress.

After a couple of failed attempts, I finally connected to a bot. I wasn’t feeling too cheery – I had just found out that my phone number was misprinted on a couple of CVs I sent out and, worse luck, that I wouldn’t be paid as scheduled – so I wanted to see if a bot could detect my misery and be a bit more “sympathetic” or something. Well, it didn’t. But after a couple of strained exchanges, defensive retorts, and awkward apologies, my bot says, “let’s get married.”

*Trish stares quizzically at Yuuko-chan*

Now where did that come from? From me, apparently. Jabberwacky's AIs supposedly learn the behavior and language of the chatters, and formulate their responses accordingly. And if we were to follow this argument to a logical conclusion, that would mean that my bot decided that the best response to my rants, smart-ass comments, and mythological references is to suggest marriage.

*again, Trish stares quizically at Yuuko-chan*

So that explains why I keep attracting guys who think that I should finish my MA, get married, and let my husband pay for my shoes and my PhD. (And yes, I've met more than one, and I don't quite know what to make of it). Of course, I'm operating on the premise that guys and bots are alike. Let's see, both have a tendency to answer in mono-syllables, change topics when the conversation veers to something they don't understand, or make statements that are either startlingly profound or don't make any sense at all, depending on one's level of sobriety.  Though I must say, the bot I chatted with had a lovely response to my standard complaint, "I don't need this kind of stress in my life." 

Okay, I may be exaggerating just a teeny bit, but if anything, this exercise has reminded me of the virtues of patience and tolerance. Jabberwacky's bots evolve with frequent conversation, so maybe my boys will mature in due time too. That, or I'll talk them to death.