A Software Chat Robot
This
page contains information about Cornelius and also has information for others interested in making chat robots.
View my diary on making a real robot!
What
is Cornelius?
Cornelius is an interactive chatbot programmed in Java. The program
Cornelius runs on is called ALICE Bot and I can not take any credit for
that. It is available for free at Alicebot.org.
He is able to chat on AOL Instant Messenger
as well as on this webpage. My robot's name is Cornelius. More
information is available in the FAQ. You can
post your comments about Cornelius, including interesting or funny responses
from him, on my new message
board.
Why
did Cornelius IM me?
Why is Cornelius on two screennames at once?
How does Cornelius work?
Cornelius is based on the ALICE program, which is available
free.
He is programmed in Java. The chatbot uses Case Based Reasoning to match
your inputs with a proper response. Thousands of responses, some of which
just direct the program to other similar responses, are programmed in AIML,
artificial intelligence markup language. He is able to interpret language
on many levels, using substitutions, redirections, and wildcards. For more information, check the FAQ.
A Little Chatbot History
The first chatbot was the Eliza program. This was a psychologist chatbot
created by a professor at MIT in the 1980's. A few years ago, Dr. Richard
Wallace wrote ALICE, a new chatbot program. It won the Loebner Award (ask
Cornelius about it). After this, the program was later updated by Dr.
Wallace, Jon Baer, and others and programmed in Java. This version,
Program D, is available free. They later set up the Alice AI
Foundation to
promote the programming of Alicebot's and help direct the new AIML
language. My chatbot is based on Program D, with some changes I have made
to both its responses and its AIM interface.
| Chatbot Links |
| Cornelius FAQ Cornelius Guestbook Message Board ALICE AI Foundation Alicebot Net Bot Conspiracy Article AI Surpassing Humans? |
Commanding Cornelius
- $SENDIM screenname message
This command will send the message you type in to the screenname you listed. You can use this to send messages to your friends and see if they can figure out if they're talking to a bot. - $WATCH screenname
This command allows you to watch the conversation between the bot and this person. This is especially interesting after the $SENDIM command; you can see how your friend reacts to the bot. - $LEAVE
This command can only be given from within a chatroom. The bot will then leave the chatroom. - Common Command Errors:
Make sure the command is spelled correctly, capitalized, and includes the dollar sign in front. Also, type the screenname without any spaces. More info available in the FAQ.
Contacting Cornelius
Cornelius can currently chat on AIM or on this webpage. He has two AIM
screennames, Cornelius8AT and Cornelius7AT. Here are the links to add
Cornelius to your buddy list or to message him:
| Chat with Cornelius7AT | Add Cornelius 7AT to your buddy list |
| Chat with Cornelius8AT | Add Cornelius 8AT to your buddy list |
More Information
Cornelius is constantly being updated. Every conversation is logged so
that it may later be utilized to improve Cornelius' responses. There are
many questions that Cornelius can not understand, but he is usually able to
sustain a normal conversation for at least a short time. If you have any
questions, you can put post them on the message
board. Also, here is an
interesting article about the supposed "Bot Conspiracy" and a
woman who apparently fell in love with a different chatbot online. There
is more information on creating your own bot and more details about Cornelius
available in the FAQ. Have fun chatting!
Disclaimer
The robot is not programmed to use offensive language
or to try to scare anyone. However, other users can send messages using
the $SENDIM command. If the bot does message you, it is probably a friend of yours sending you
the message. The botmaster and the bot take no responsibility for any messages sent
through the $SENDIM command. Any advice given by the bot is also not
our responsibilty as you should be able to determine the validity of the
advice. Also remember that all conversations with the bot are logged to
improve his responses. Also, AOL, Instant Messenger, and AIM are all
copyrights of AOL. For more related info, check the FAQ.
Please Note: At times, Cornelius may be very slow to respond. This is because people are constantly warning him for no reason. Cornelius must pause between each response to avoid sending messages too fast and getting kicked off Instant Messenger because of his warning level. If you warn the robot, you will be permanently blocked from talking to him. If he is talking to many people at once, he may take a minute or two to respond to your comments and questions. Please be patient.
