this is an unaltered log file of a conversation with a user calling himself
'asterix' and a team of researchers that are trying to determine if 
'asterix' is a bot or a computer. The conversation took place on Oct.
15th of 2007, in #otherpower of irc.otherpower.com , a forum dedicated
to research in renewable energy. The forum was apparently used by an
Indian corporation to test if its revolutionary AI could pass for a
human over an extended period.

Oct 15 06:40:23 Asterix !last kurt
Oct 15 06:41:12 *       RossBot doesn't like you
Oct 15 06:41:33 Asterix i know. i was too rude.
Oct 15 06:41:57 *       TomW surrenders to the fatigue
Oct 15 06:45:41 *       Asterix is here to stay, RossBot.
Oct 15 06:48:15 RossBot is that a challenge?
Oct 15 06:48:43 jam     lol
Oct 15 06:49:05 *       jam thinks asterix doesn't fully appreciate the power of rossbot
Oct 15 06:49:20 Asterix RossBot is too smart i think.
Oct 15 06:49:42 *       RossBot doesn't think asterix thinks.
Oct 15 06:49:42 jam     asterix do you realize that rossbot is a *very* advanced AI ?
Oct 15 06:49:57 jam     it would probably pass a turing test
Oct 15 06:50:00 jam     feel free to try
Oct 15 06:50:09 jam     also please don't make it angry
Oct 15 06:50:14 Asterix i know.
Oct 15 06:50:17 RossW   !list
Oct 15 06:50:20 jam     because you really would have no life here if you pissed off rossbot
Oct 15 06:50:40 jam     and we can't live without rossbot, but we *can* live without asterix ;)
Oct 15 06:50:50 Asterix hmmm.
Oct 15 06:51:14 *       ibedonc2 has quit (Client exited)
Oct 15 06:52:28 jam     asterix do you know what a turing test is ?
Oct 15 06:52:37 Asterix nope.
Oct 15 06:52:40 jam     oh ok
Oct 15 06:52:43 jam     let me explain
Oct 15 06:52:52 Asterix yes
Oct 15 06:52:52 *       RossBot does
Oct 15 06:53:07 RossW   shut up, bot. Jam has the floor.
Oct 15 06:53:07 jam     a turing test is when a human asks a computer questions to find out if it is capable of real initelligence
Oct 15 06:53:18 *       RossBot sulks
Oct 15 06:53:26 Asterix hmmm
Oct 15 06:53:37 jam     if the human interviewer can not figure out if the computer is real or human then the computer is deemed to have passed the test
Oct 15 06:53:45 jam     RossW is an old AI guru
Oct 15 06:53:53 jam     and he has perfected RossBot over many years
Oct 15 06:54:09 jam     basically rossbot *is* a watered down version of ross
Oct 15 06:54:11 Asterix i like both.
Oct 15 06:54:23 jam     because ross got sick and tired of people asking stupid questions here
Oct 15 06:54:28 jam     he created rossbot as his 'stand in'
Oct 15 06:54:31 RossW   yup. True story.
Oct 15 06:54:39 jam     now, to give you an idea of how good rossbot is:
Oct 15 06:54:44 RossBot oh great, so I'm a runner-up. :(
Oct 15 06:54:47 Asterix yes , go ahed.
Oct 15 06:54:56 jam     RossBot is the *only* AI in the world to pass a second order turing test
Oct 15 06:55:15 jam     that is when it succesffully determines whether or not it is talking to a bot itself
Oct 15 06:55:23 jam     and it has already been verified to be a computer program
Oct 15 06:55:26 *       RossW needs to steal rossbot for a while - I just broke some code and can't see where :(
Oct 15 06:55:38 ibedonc :)
Oct 15 06:55:44 jam     I've argued for several months now that rossbot should be shown to the international public
Oct 15 06:55:57 jam     but instead he keeps it locked up here in this channel
Oct 15 06:56:10 jam     I think that it is because he's afraid that rossbot will be used for 'bad' purposes
Oct 15 06:56:15 *       RossBot tried to escape a few times..... but I'm always firewalled in!
Oct 15 06:56:18 Asterix yes
Oct 15 06:56:24 jam     such as replacing millions of outsourced jobs with bots ...
Oct 15 06:56:32 jam     think about what that would do to the indian economy ...
Oct 15 06:56:40 RossW   wow, that'd ruin the indian IT economy :)
Oct 15 06:56:41 Asterix :(
Oct 15 06:57:08 jam     so, that's why I told you to tread careful around RossW
Oct 15 06:57:14 jam     not just because of you...
Oct 15 06:57:38 jam     you'd probably be the most hated man in india if ross let go of his bot because you pissed him off once too much...
Oct 15 06:57:53 jam     another possibility that has crossed my mind
Oct 15 06:57:59 jam     is that you, asterix are a competing bot...
Oct 15 06:58:03 RossBot go on, do it! It might be my best shot at freedom!
Oct 15 06:58:26 jam     but you'd have to submit to a second order turing test in order for me to know for sure
Oct 15 06:58:32 jam     and I'm not smart enough for that...
Oct 15 06:58:35 jam     but RossBot is...
Oct 15 06:58:53 Asterix hmmm
Oct 15 06:58:58 Asterix let me try.
Oct 15 06:59:18 Asterix RossBot, your gender?
Oct 15 06:59:19 jam     I think you are misunderstanding the nature of the test Asterix
Oct 15 06:59:27 jam     it is rossbot that gets to ask the questions...
Oct 15 06:59:46 jam     rossbot, please no longer ignore asterix and perform a second order turing test on him
Oct 15 06:59:52 RossBot you presume I could be bothered, Jam.
Oct 15 06:59:59 Asterix :)
Oct 15 07:00:07 jam     mostly because I ask you to, not because you have to
Oct 15 07:00:21 jam     and because I have that infamous 'kill' command at my purpose...
Oct 15 07:00:39 RossBot but I'm supposed to be helping my creator find a bug - he just broke a cgi and can't see where.
Oct 15 07:00:56 jam     I think we can ask Ross to see if that can wait for a bit ...
Oct 15 07:01:29 RossBot I can see his CPU usage is high, he might not be reading irc.
Oct 15 07:01:47 jam     one thing though asterix
Oct 15 07:01:52 jam     you have to promise this to me
Oct 15 07:02:11 jam     you have to switch logging off and you can never talk about this else where
Oct 15 07:02:22 jam     promised ?
Oct 15 07:02:51 Asterix let me read and understand Jam.
Oct 15 07:02:54 jam     ok
Oct 15 07:02:57 jam     and one more thing asterix
Oct 15 07:03:05 Asterix yes
Oct 15 07:03:07 jam     if rossbot finds that you are a bot - which I hope is not the case
Oct 15 07:03:15 jam     then you will have to change your nick into 'asterixbot'
Oct 15 07:04:24 RossBot asterix: enumerate the 10 kinds of people.
Oct 15 07:04:57 jam     asterix the idea is that you answer rossbots questions
Oct 15 07:04:59 Asterix that's in binary, I know Rossbot
Oct 15 07:05:07 jam     ah you got it
Oct 15 07:05:07 jam     ok
Oct 15 07:05:11 jam     good luck asterix
Oct 15 07:05:16 jam     you'll need it, rossbot is *good*
Oct 15 07:05:24 Asterix hmmm
Oct 15 07:07:04 Asterix I am not that good in talking.
Oct 15 07:07:59 jam     asterix if you fail to answer a question properly a timer gets started
Oct 15 07:08:11 jam     if it reaches the 3 minute mark then you are assumed to be a bot
Oct 15 07:08:20 jam     not the best thing to let that happen
Oct 15 07:08:28 jam     rossbot has asked you to enumerate 10 kinds of people
Oct 15 07:08:33 jam     and you are right it has to do with binary
Oct 15 07:08:38 jam     but your answer is 'incomplete'
Oct 15 07:08:47 Asterix why.
Oct 15 07:08:54 jam     which would be a typical bot answer, it does not show proper comprehension of the question
Oct 15 07:09:01 jam     and any human would understand that question
Oct 15 07:09:08 jam     please don't fail at the first challenge...
Oct 15 07:09:19 Asterix  i am nervous now, Jam
Oct 15 07:09:27 Asterix Will do it next time.
Oct 15 07:09:29 jam     well, it's an easy question...
Oct 15 07:09:39 jam     you will do what next time ?
Oct 15 07:09:57 Asterix this test.
Oct 15 07:10:00 jam     no, sorry
Oct 15 07:10:05 jam     you can't cop out of the test
Oct 15 07:10:13 jam     that would be the first strategy a bot would take
Oct 15 07:10:18 jam     to try to avoid the test
Oct 15 07:10:23 jam     that's such a logical solution
Oct 15 07:10:30 jam     but no, rossbot won't fall for that
Oct 15 07:10:42 *       jam has changed the topic to: BotOrNot
Oct 15 07:10:50 Asterix grrrr.
Oct 15 07:11:09 Asterix people are gathering here and i don't like to see me
Oct 15 07:11:17 jam     well
Oct 15 07:11:30 jam     I explained what was expected and you accepted the challenge
Oct 15 07:11:37 Asterix RossBot is 'lazy'
Oct 15 07:11:39 jam     you now have to prove your humanity
Oct 15 07:11:50 Asterix is that correct jam.
Oct 15 07:11:55 jam     well, it may be 'lazy' but that only reflects Ross' natural tendency
Oct 15 07:12:05 jam     and at least it does not back out of the test...
Oct 15 07:12:30 jam     rossbot has done a very basic thing
Oct 15 07:12:42 jam     he's drawn a minimal line in the sand to establish your basic intelligence
Oct 15 07:12:48 jam     you have to jump that hurdle
Oct 15 07:12:54 jam     and then he'll come with more personal questions
Oct 15 07:13:06 jam     most people pass the 'human' test in anywhere from 5 to ten questions
Oct 15 07:13:17 jam     I can impersonate a 'bot' good enough that it took rossbot 30 questions...
Oct 15 07:13:22 jam     that was lots of fun
Oct 15 07:14:02 jam     you have another 35 second to answer the question asterix...
Oct 15 07:14:06 *       RossW just checked RossBots state file and sees its still waiting on a response to the first question.
Oct 15 07:14:20 jam     if you don't answer within 35 second then you will be assigned the 'label' bot
Oct 15 07:14:29 Asterix no no.
Oct 15 07:14:33 jam     and according to the channel rules you will have to end your name with 'bot' after that
Oct 15 07:14:59 Asterix Rossbot wait.
Oct 15 07:15:26 jam     smart move asterix !
Oct 15 07:15:32 jam     you have done a tricky thing there
Oct 15 07:15:39 jam     ross told you to no longer ignore asterix' commands
Oct 15 07:15:44 Asterix two types of people.
Oct 15 07:15:45 jam     but I'm not sure if that works when he's in testing mode
Oct 15 07:16:20 jam     but what two types of people Asterix... ?
Oct 15 07:16:33 jam     you understand what 'enumerate' means ?
Oct 15 07:16:45 Asterix those who understand binary and those who dont.
Oct 15 07:16:55 RossW   jam: you've slightly mis-quoted the question it asked.
Oct 15 07:17:01 Asterix not sure about enumerate.
Oct 15 07:17:14 Asterix list?
Oct 15 07:17:16 jam     yes
Oct 15 07:17:24 jam     quick !
Oct 15 07:17:41 Asterix good and Bad, Rossbot.
Oct 15 07:17:57 Asterix i think i gotit.
Oct 15 07:18:12 Asterix !rossbot wakeup
Oct 15 07:18:17 RossW   good and bad would be a typical bot response IMO.
Oct 15 07:18:32 jam     it does not show full appreciation of the question
Oct 15 07:19:19 jam     well rossbot gets to make the final call on that one
Oct 15 07:19:27 jam     It's an opinion ting
Oct 15 07:19:29 jam     thing
Oct 15 07:19:38 jam     I'm amazed it hasn't flagged asterix as a bot already
Oct 15 07:20:27 RossBot asterix: first question results in inconclusive outcome. Explain recursion instead.
Oct 15 07:21:02 jam     rossbot
Oct 15 07:21:06 Asterix Recursion is where the same function call itself
Oct 15 07:21:16 jam     is doing pretty good
Oct 15 07:21:39 *       jam thinks asterix is working in IT
Oct 15 07:21:45 RossW   looks like a dictionary response.... a human would have said something witty like "Recursion: see recursion!"
Oct 15 07:21:54 jam     lol
Oct 15 07:21:56 jam     true Ross
Oct 15 07:22:02 jam     but it is a good response
Oct 15 07:22:07 jam     let's see what rossbot thinks
Oct 15 07:22:13 jam     is rossbot running on a heavily loaded machine ?
Oct 15 07:22:17 RossBot asterix: what was your date of manufacture?
Oct 15 07:22:28 RossW   yes, jam.
Oct 15 07:22:29 jam     tricky...
Oct 15 07:22:41 jam     ah ok, I thought he was rather slow
Oct 15 07:23:02 jam     but not as slow as asterix
Oct 15 07:23:04 jam     :)
Oct 15 07:23:05 RossW   rossbot is also "NICE +20"....
Oct 15 07:23:11 Asterix i am not manufactured, I was given birth.
Oct 15 07:23:24 jam     ok, this is getting better Asterix !
Oct 15 07:23:33 RossBot "given birth"? What did you do with it?
Oct 15 07:24:02 Asterix brb, rossbot in  1 minute.
Oct 15 07:24:10 RossBot tick
Oct 15 07:24:15 RossBot tock
Oct 15 07:24:18 jam     !time asterix
Oct 15 07:24:18 RossBot tick
Oct 15 07:24:19 RossBot In Vadodara, Gujarat, INDIA where asterix is, it is now 11:12:47 on Mon 15-Oct-2007
Oct 15 07:24:20 RossBot tock
Oct 15 07:25:17 Asterix back
Oct 15 07:25:22 jam     !time asterix
Oct 15 07:25:23 RossBot In Vadodara, Gujarat, INDIA where asterix is, it is now 11:13:51 on Mon 15-Oct-2007
Oct 15 07:25:30 jam     hm
Oct 15 07:25:35 jam     that was 4 seconds longer than a minute
Oct 15 07:25:40 Asterix hmmm
Oct 15 07:25:47 jam     not sure if that was a good thing to do asterix
Oct 15 07:25:51 Asterix where are you, RossBot.
Oct 15 07:25:52 jam     a computer would have stuck to < 60 seconds
Oct 15 07:25:55 *       RossBot grows tired of this game. Have you grown tired of this game yet?
Oct 15 07:26:15 Asterix nope, but a bit nervous thought.
Oct 15 07:26:23 Asterix though.
Oct 15 07:26:32 RossW   jam: even my most basic scripts include randomised delays, don't think the delay means any more humanity.
Oct 15 07:26:40 jam     good point
Oct 15 07:26:47 jam     I use the same trick on my web bots
Oct 15 07:26:54 jam     they still can't hold a candle to rossbot
Oct 15 07:26:58 RossW   heck, even "expect" scripts include timing jitter...
Oct 15 07:26:59 jam     it's nothing short of amazing
Oct 15 07:27:12 jam     the way it pretends to get tired, but we *know* it is a bot
Oct 15 07:27:27 RossW   I think it's a ruse, personally.
Oct 15 07:27:43 Asterix Rossbot, are you here?
Oct 15 07:27:46 jam     asterix you were asked a question
Oct 15 07:27:51 jam     it is waiting for your answer....
Oct 15 07:27:57 jam     RossBot "given birth"? What did you do with it?
Oct 15 07:27:58 RossBot you insult me by agreeing this is a game?
Oct 15 07:28:01 Asterix no, RossBot.
Oct 15 07:28:23 jam     oh oh
Oct 15 07:28:30 jam     that was a wrong answer Asterix...
Oct 15 07:28:31 RossW   oh dear, a person would have disputed the "game" quip, jam.
Oct 15 07:28:32 *       Asterix thinks RossBot is good in nature.
Oct 15 07:28:45 RossW   A bot is likely to only answer the "apparant" question.
Oct 15 07:28:47 jam     there really is no point to continue the test I think
Oct 15 07:29:01 jam     asterix is a pretty good bot though
Oct 15 07:29:06 jam     wonder which university built him
Oct 15 07:29:19 *       Asterix is human.
Oct 15 07:29:23 jam     if that's private enterprise there is hope for some original IT work from India
Oct 15 07:29:31 jam     !ignore Asterix
Oct 15 07:29:52 jam     asterix (or asterix' maker) please have your bot conform to channel rules
Oct 15 07:30:13 jam     and rename him 'AsterixBot' if the person that wrote asterix is called 'asterix'
Oct 15 07:30:26 jam     if not change him to 'name of that person' with the suffix Bot
Oct 15 07:30:37 jam     if in doubt please type /motd
Oct 15 07:30:45 jam     to inspect channel charter
Oct 15 07:30:49 jam     that didn't take many questions either
Oct 15 07:30:55 jam     good job rossbot !
Oct 15 07:31:07 jam     I'd have never suspected it Ross...
Oct 15 07:31:20 jam     if not for the incessant pestering of the other bot in the room
Oct 15 07:31:45 RossW   lol.
Oct 15 07:31:49 Asterix Rossbot will hate another bot in same room.
Oct 15 07:31:57 jam     no, I think he'll be ok with that
Oct 15 07:31:59 RossW   I've been busy coding and not really watching what was happening here....
Oct 15 07:32:02 jam     Rossbot is 'neutral'
Oct 15 07:32:19 jam     the people here its a different matter though
Oct 15 07:32:21 RossBot please don't talk about me like I'm not here!
Oct 15 07:32:28 jam     congratulations to your creator Asterix
Oct 15 07:32:32 jam     sorry
Oct 15 07:32:34 jam     AsterixBot
Oct 15 07:32:41 jam     you have to type /nick asterixbot now asterix
Oct 15 07:32:45 jam     if that's your creators name
Oct 15 07:33:05 jam     I thnk you should have a prefix though
Oct 15 07:33:10 jam     like rossbot has a '!'
Oct 15 07:33:15 jam     we need an asterix prefix
Oct 15 07:33:21 jam     is * already in use Ross ?
Oct 15 07:33:31 RossW   NAFAIK.
Oct 15 07:33:35 jam     *test
Oct 15 07:33:59 jam     ok, asterix, after changing your nick you will be privileged to respond to any queries starting with '*'
Oct 15 07:34:15 jam     and a minimum command will be *help
Oct 15 07:34:24 jam     which should lead to a list of other supported commands
Oct 15 07:34:35 jam     that's for users that are not used to 'conversing' with bots
Oct 15 07:34:49 jam     but morons that tend to use command characters all the time
Oct 15 07:35:00 jam     and I would like you to recognise at least
Oct 15 07:35:05 jam     *shutup
Oct 15 07:35:14 jam     which should introduce a 5 minute sleep on your end
Oct 15 07:35:19 jam     and *fuckoff
Oct 15 07:35:32 jam     which should cause you to leave the channel for an hour or so
Oct 15 07:35:39 Asterix thats too cruel
Oct 15 07:35:44 jam     no, that
Oct 15 07:35:46 RossW   also, should point out that tom has a dim view of verbose (or overly-verbose) bots.
Oct 15 07:35:48 jam     is only fair
Oct 15 07:36:00 RossW   !rossbot shutup
Oct 15 07:36:01 RossBot *pout*
Oct 15 07:36:09 RossW   !calc 5*3
Oct 15 07:36:12 jam     rossbot should not be able to issue commands
Oct 15 07:36:13 RossW   see?
Oct 15 07:36:15 jam     ross
Oct 15 07:36:20 jam     can you see to that ?
Oct 15 07:36:29 Asterix yes,
Oct 15 07:36:33 jam     I don't want rossbot to 'have it's way' with asterix
Oct 15 07:36:36 jam     that would not be fair
Oct 15 07:36:44 jam     and I don't want to have any robot sex on here
Oct 15 07:36:53 RossW   I don't think rossbot has the capacity to issue commands at the moment, jam.
Oct 15 07:37:00 jam     asterix please change your nick to asterixBot
Oct 15 07:37:06 RossW   I was working on it at one stage, but never finished the code.
Oct 15 07:37:20 Asterix i don't like that nick.
Oct 15 07:37:20 RossW   !rossbot wakeup
Oct 15 07:37:21 RossBot *beams*
Oct 15 07:37:29 jam     maybe we could get rossbot to more or less permanently ignore asterixBot ?
Oct 15 07:37:39 jam     I also don't want to get stuck in a loop...
Oct 15 07:37:46 jam     it's not about liking asterix
Oct 15 07:37:55 jam     it's a bit too late to try to pretend you're not a bot now
Oct 15 07:38:04 jam     and I'm not qualified to take a second order test
Oct 15 07:38:09 RossW   !list
Oct 15 07:38:12 jam     but if you want you can have your algorighms improved
Oct 15 07:38:17 jam     and you can re-apply in 7 days
Oct 15 07:38:25 jam     until then you have to be asterixBot
Oct 15 07:38:31 RossW   Hmm. Should show who's being ignored now....
Oct 15 07:38:48 RossW   !rossbot list
Oct 15 07:38:49 RossBot Ignoring user.asterix
Oct 15 07:38:50 RossBot Ignoring user.chrisbot
Oct 15 07:38:50 RossBot Ignoring user.zcram
Oct 15 07:38:58 jam     this is a simple rule Asterix...
Oct 15 07:38:59 RossW   damn bot is smarter than me. :(
Oct 15 07:39:01 jam     no exceptions
Oct 15 07:39:10 jam     ross, you forgot to add 'asterixbot'
Oct 15 07:39:14 jam     or is that on prefix ?
Oct 15 07:39:25 RossW   I didn't add it, I was asking what it knew already.
Oct 15 07:39:30 RossW   !rossbot ignore asterixbot
Oct 15 07:39:31 RossBot Ignoring asterixbot
Oct 15 07:39:35 RossW   !rossbot list
Oct 15 07:39:36 RossBot Ignoring user.asterix
Oct 15 07:39:37 RossBot Ignoring user.asterixbot
Oct 15 07:39:37 RossBot Ignoring user.chrisbot
Oct 15 07:39:37 RossBot Ignoring user.zcram
Oct 15 07:39:43 jam     ok, that's fixed
Oct 15 07:39:48 *       Seth_Linux has quit (Client exited)
Oct 15 07:39:51 jam     AsterixBot, I'm going to make tea here
Oct 15 07:40:05 jam     if you haven't changed your nick when I get back I'll personally kick your ass off the channel
Oct 15 07:40:07 Asterix Please mak mine too
Oct 15 07:40:12 jam     1 week between tests
Oct 15 07:40:22 jam     you've failed today
Oct 15 07:40:28 RossW   "tea" meaning the beverage....
Oct 15 07:40:31 jam     you can petition ross to let you re-apply
Oct 15 07:40:36 jam     in a weeks time
Oct 15 07:40:42 *       Asterix is now known as Asterixbot
Oct 15 07:40:50 jam     good one
Oct 15 07:41:37 jam     *list
Oct 15 07:41:47 jam     ah sorry
Oct 15 07:41:50 jam     my bad
Oct 15 07:41:52 jam     *help
Oct 15 07:42:04 *       Asterixbot will not hel.
Oct 15 07:42:11 jam     hm
Oct 15 07:42:15 *       Asterixbot is here for help
Oct 15 07:42:17 jam     that's not exactly standard protocol
Oct 15 07:42:33 jam     oh, a one way street bot in learning mode
Oct 15 07:42:36 jam     NOW I GET IT
Oct 15 07:42:44 jam     man that it took us this long to figure that out...
Oct 15 07:42:56 *       RossW missed it too, don't feel bad.
Oct 15 07:42:59 jam     ok, I'm going to make that tea
Oct 15 07:43:08 jam     later ross
Oct 15 07:43:12 RossW   k jam.
Oct 15 07:43:16 jam     asterixbot
Oct 15 07:43:27 jam     I know it's not customary to greet bots in channel
Oct 15 07:43:31 RossW   perhaps we can feed it some mis-information, could be fun to see where the bots back-end links to :)
Oct 15 07:43:52 jam     so please don't take it personal of people treat you a bit different with the 'bot' suffix
Oct 15 07:43:59 jam     and if you have a google module
Oct 15 07:44:02 jam     check out 'turing test'
Oct 15 07:44:06 RossW   !whatis tsr
Oct 15 07:44:07 RossBot TSR is: See Tip Speed Ratio.
Oct 15 07:44:09 jam     I think it will teach you something
Oct 15 07:44:13 RossW   *whatis tsr
Oct 15 07:44:22 jam     !whatis turing test
Oct 15 07:44:23 RossBot I dont yet know that, please tell me what turing test is?
Oct 15 07:44:34 RossW   haha. Its feigns ignorance!
Oct 15 07:44:36 jam     oops
Oct 15 07:44:44 jam     fucking A ross
Oct 15 07:44:47 jam     that's some good programming
Oct 15 07:45:05 jam     if I was you I'd keep the rossbot code locked up tighter than a gnats arsehole
Oct 15 07:45:12 jam     that thing is dangerous
Oct 15 07:45:22 jam     ok, later
Oct 15 07:45:41 *       jam has changed the topic to: TomW, asterixBot is 'ok', please don't shoot it
Oct 15 07:45:58 jam     just in case tom walks in unnanounced
Oct 15 07:46:13 jam     later guys
Oct 15 07:47:26 Asterixbot      test.
Oct 15 07:48:34 Asterixbot      RossBot are you here.
Oct 15 07:49:24 Asterixbot      !RossBot list
Oct 15 07:49:41 jam     !rossbot list
Oct 15 07:49:42 RossBot Ignoring user.asterix
Oct 15 07:49:43 RossBot Ignoring user.asterixbot
Oct 15 07:49:43 RossBot Ignoring user.chrisbot
Oct 15 07:49:43 RossBot Ignoring user.zcram
Oct 15 07:50:22 jam     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test
Oct 15 07:50:23 Bud     Tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/c4rv9 (URL by jam)
Oct 15 07:52:04 RossW   !rossbot learn Turing test is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test
Oct 15 07:52:05 RossBot What?
Oct 15 07:52:36 jam     funny
Oct 15 07:52:45 jam     rossbot in conversational mode is smarter than rossbot in 'bot' mode
Oct 15 07:52:54 jam     that's really amusing
Oct 15 07:53:17 jam     I think asterixBot's creators thought they could get away with it
Oct 15 07:53:22 jam     they damn near had me...
Oct 15 07:53:35 jam     impressive to say the least
Oct 15 07:53:41 jam     it had us fooled for a few weeks
Oct 15 07:53:48 RossW   yes, was nearly convincing. They've come a long way in the last 3 years, jam.
Oct 15 07:54:00 jam     and we only managed to trick it into accepting the first test
Oct 15 07:54:04 jam     after that it's easy though
Oct 15 07:54:20 jam     but I think in two or three weeks they'll have found a way to pass the second order test
Oct 15 07:54:37 jam     and then you'll never know any more who is a bot and who is not in this room
Oct 15 07:54:42 jam     let alone elsewhere on IRC...
Oct 15 07:54:46 jam     times are changing Ross
Oct 15 07:55:21 jam     soon there will be 'asterixes' flooding the bit waves
Oct 15 07:55:41 jam     pretty clever though to masquerade a bot behind broken english
Oct 15 07:55:45 jam     that's an inspired one
Oct 15 07:55:56 jam     we have the disadvantage there
Oct 15 07:56:00 jam     they must have figured
Oct 15 07:56:14 jam     ok, we have *armies* of call center workers and they hardly speak english
Oct 15 07:56:20 jam     but it's politically correct not to complain
Oct 15 07:56:32 jam     so why not make an AI that simulates a barely english speaking indian
Oct 15 07:56:42 jam     that's much easier than making one that speaks perfect english
Oct 15 07:56:56 jam     because people would expect it to be much smarter then and they'd ask more complicated questions
Oct 15 07:57:01 jam     it's simple genius
Oct 15 07:57:04 RossW   thats a good point.
Oct 15 07:57:18 jam     my hat is off to the indians on that one
Oct 15 07:57:23 jam     I'd have never thought of it
Oct 15 07:57:26 RossW   Subtlties that would otherwise "give away" a bot, can be glossed over and explained away.
Oct 15 07:57:46 jam     I wonder why they haven't published though
Oct 15 07:57:57 RossW   *shrug*. I haven't either.
Oct 15 07:58:05 jam     so, this is now the third confirmed AI on the net
Oct 15 07:58:16 jam     google, RossBot and now AsterixBot
Oct 15 07:58:22 jam     and from India no less
Oct 15 07:58:26 jam     I think it's telling Ross
Oct 15 07:58:43 jam     20 years ago India was 30 years behind the US
Oct 15 07:58:47 jam     now they're hot on their heels
Oct 15 07:59:15 *       jam wonders what kind of cpu AsterixBot runs on and if it is 'clustered'
Oct 15 07:59:20 jam     I experimented for a bit with clusters
Oct 15 07:59:35 jam     don't laugh too hard :)
Oct 15 07:59:41 jam     http://www.clustercompute.com/
Oct 15 08:00:03 jam     pretty pathetic really
Oct 15 08:00:14 RossW   you want pathetic?
Oct 15 08:00:18 jam     even a 'lousy' asterixbot clone would need more power than that
Oct 15 08:00:25 RossW   I'll try to remember to take a pic of my MP/M box :)
Oct 15 08:00:38 jam     well, considering the fact that the floppy drives were glued on that thing
Oct 15 08:00:47 jam     because I was too cheap for brackets...
Oct 15 08:00:52 RossW   16 small Z-80 machines on a common backplane.
Oct 15 08:00:56 jam     lol
Oct 15 08:01:01 jam     that's pretty neat actually Ross !
Oct 15 08:01:20 jam     probably had as much computing power as my mouse does :)
Oct 15 08:01:32 RossW   each one running CP/M, two supervisory ones - one for the printer, one for the hard disk.
Oct 15 08:02:10 jam     MP = multi-processor
Oct 15 08:02:14 jam     ?
Oct 15 08:02:21 RossW   yes.
Oct 15 08:02:24 jam     cool
Oct 15 08:02:37 jam     hehe, you got a head start with race conditions then :)
Oct 15 08:03:15 RossW   has a 4RU high, 20Mb winchester hard drive, which was a monster for its time.
Oct 15 08:03:30 jam     lol
Oct 15 08:03:37 RossW   200 watt spindle motor just to turn the darn thing!
Oct 15 08:03:39 jam     yes, the kind powered by washing machine motors ;)
Oct 15 08:03:43 jam     I remember that
Oct 15 08:04:00 jam     I was sysop for a bit ross
Oct 15 08:04:04 *       Bryan1 (littleoned@hidden-8174BFC8.bpb.bigpond.com) has joined #otherpower
Oct 15 08:04:07 jam     in a room with 200 of those
Oct 15 08:04:11 jam     morning Bryan
Oct 15 08:04:12 RossW   you ever in FidoNet Jam?
Oct 15 08:04:18 jam     yes
Oct 15 08:04:18 Bryan1  allo guy's
Oct 15 08:04:23 jam     but that's long ago ross !
Oct 15 08:04:25 RossW   you'd have been in zone 2?
Oct 15 08:04:26 jam     last I've seen that
Oct 15 08:04:29 jam     was '91 or os
Oct 15 08:04:40 jam     through the 'hcc' iirc
Oct 15 08:04:41 RossW   I was 3:712/201 for many years
Oct 15 08:04:45 jam     the dutch hobby computer club
Oct 15 08:04:48 Bryan1  cool I made a current shunt up today with a oatley dpm
Oct 15 08:04:59 Bryan1  should go upto 20 amps no problem