|
Bartender with a byte
Computerized character chats with Web watering hole guests
March 21, 1997
Web posted at: 4:20 p.m. ESTIn this story:
From Correspondent Dick Wilson
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- "Erin the Bartender" is an online chat room with a difference -- and the technology that made it possible may change the way you visit Web sites in the future.
Combining cartoon-like characters and computerized artificial intelligence, visitors get spontaneous reactions from Erin, a make-believe 29-year-old bartender living and working in Hollywood.
"Erin knows how to greet customers and find out what they want," says Barbara Hayes-Roth, the Stanford University computer researcher who invented Erin. But what the bartender really likes to talk about is music.
(272K/14 sec. AIFF or WAV sound) Although she's not real -- existing only on a Web site -- Erin even comes with a resume that says she graduated from Berklee College of Music and traveled to California to try her luck singing in a rock 'n' roll band.
'Erin the Bartender' talks back
Demonstrating Erin's abilities as a chat room host, Hayes- Roth types in entries ranging from small talk to insults. By means of artificial intelligence given to her by her creator, Erin responds with unscripted and sometimes unpredictable answers.
At first, she appears unfazed by a message to her that reads, "Your momma dresses you ugly."
"Whatever," she grumbles.
But a further taunt ("You're ugleee") gets a nastier reply. "You should consider becoming the poster child for birth control," is the message from Erin that appears on the computer screen.
Rover the Web site greeter
Most commercial Web sites, says Hayes-Roth, are too cold and inhuman. "There's a lot of information but there's no feeling, nobody to talk to or help you with things."
Hayes-Roth hopes to change that, using the same technology that created Erin.
In a joint effort with Sony of Japan, she's developing another computerized character, named Rover. The roughly drawn dog will lie down if you type in that command, but Hayes-Roth has bigger plans for the pooch.
(417K/18 sec. AIFF or WAV sound) He's "the first of a line of greeter characters that would live on a person or company's Web site," she explains.
His job is to "greet visitors, acquaint them with the site and provide information."
Erin and Rover are nicknamed "imps," for improvisational impact. Despite rough graphics and sometimes jerky motions, Erin recently made her Internet debut and Rover may be coming soon. So be prepared. The next time you log on to the Internet, you might find an imp is your guide.
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser windowExternal sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
Watch these shows on CNN for more sci-tech stories:
CNN Computer Connection | Future Watch | Science & Technology Week
Tell us what you think!
You said it...
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.