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Smooth Talkers Bots Chatting and Marketting! | |
Smooth Talkers
The Nando Times reports of chat agents that can lead the conversation to market a particular product; Digital 'Buddies' Latest in Elaborate Marketing Tools. This is scary from a conceptual point of view, even if the bots are really bad in practice (they'll become good eventually!) Just imagine sitting in ICQ and someone random starting a conversation, which seems plausibly human-like. The next thing you know you're being told how wonderful the next Scooby-doo film is... The article goes into the dangers of such technology, as seen by the creator of an early bot called Eliza. On a similar note, BBC News has a feature about using chatter bots in business, but for a good cause -- Virtual People Help Bridge Digital Divide. Basically, the technology is used to answer queries of users and guide them as appropriate. This sounds like a much nobler goal than marketing! ;) Finally, the NY Times has an article on the talkative Cindy toy; A Chatty Doll of a Different Kind. |
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