Losing the Message

A while ago I became involved in something called chatbots. I’d had my fill of chatrooms, but I still wanted to chat. I started searching for programs you can have on your computer where you type messages as though it was an imaginary friend, or perhaps even a psychiatrist, but basically they just repeat back to you, in a different form, some of the things you’ve already said. Along with that, you can expect to receive replies such as, “Yes, I understand...” or “Please continue.” Remember the 1971 George Lucas film, THX 1138, and the scene where Robert Duvall's character enters a "Prayer Booth?”

I came across several different kinds of chatbots, but I found one that I could play with online without downloading anything to my computer. I could name it, make changes in the program and alter what and how it answered, and others could chat with too… all for free.

The odd thing is, so many people are unable to have a conversation with it, because they either can’t spell correctly, or because they are unable to type in any form other than “chatspeak,” the shorthand way that people use to communicate when text messaging on their cell phone and instant messaging programs on the Internet.

If you’d like to chat with a variety of chatbots, click the link below.

CLICK HERE for CHATBOTS!