Hello All!

My name is Laura and have been a programmer for many years as well as being involved in many groundbreaking software and internet based projects. I am currently developing an AI agent for the Internet called Marie. I am excited about this project and what it will bring to the AI and chat bot community.

The website for this project is located at http://www.mymarie.com and is currently in alpha with a public beta scheduled for early 2012.

Great to be Here!

Hi, Laura, and welcome to chatbots.org!

I’ll be sure to check Marie out, once she goes public. It’s nice to have you here, and I hope you come to love this place as much as I do. Please feel free to join in on the current discussions here (or the past ones, for that matter. New perspective is a good thing!), or even start your own, if you like. Also, if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We have a really great group of knowledgable, helpful people here, who are passionate (sometimes, too passionate, but…) about the field of AI, and many of us are pursuing our own projects, of one form or another. I hope that you come to feel like “one of the family”.

Ok, I’ve noticed that I’m rambling. I’ll shut up now.

Hi Laura, welcome! I noticed your website is a little sparse on the details. Can you tell us more about how your chatbot works? What techniques do you employ (parsing, pattern matching, databases, etc.)?

Since Marie is still in development and this project is to be a commercial product, disclosure of certain programming methods and data structures are proprietary. What I can say is that the user interface is HTML 5 and CSS 3 with the inital string parsing written entirely in JavaScript making it both cross platform and portable. The pattern matching is processed on the server and then a query is addressed to a database.

I know this is vague, but I have some non disclosure issues with invested parties.

Thanks for your interest!

Laura,
Most of us here, are already fluent in the programming methods and data structures needed to clone a prototype of Marie.  Not that any of us would try to do that, but only that, for the most part,  we have the knowledge to do that.  Here is a chatter robot prototype interface I just built today which is vaguely similar to your description of Marie: http://www.chatbots.org/ai_zone/viewthread/527/P210/#7382 ...  So being vague, is good enough for the sake of conversation.  Welcome to chatbots.org

I am sure that most of you have the knowledge and experience to build any type of chat bot. I am just in a position that I can not openly speak in detail about Marie contractually. On the other hand, my reason for joining this forum was to converse with like minded developers both for fun and to exchange ideas.

Us programmers are a bit different than most when it comes to how we think and look at life in general, so it’s great to have forums like this available to converse. I am also an accomplished musician (guitar player) and likewise belong to forums in that area of of interest as well.

Again, great to have joined this amazing group of enthusiasts.

Welcome to the forum Laura. In your profile you mentioned that you have been interested in artificial intelligence for a long time. How long have you been working on projects directly related to the field? I’m looking forward to hearing as much as you are free to tell us about your work, past, present and future.

I am also curious about the approach that you are taking, whether you are tackling natural language using formal methods such as abstract grammars and parsers, or informally using things like AIML. Both approaches have their merits of course, and both approaches have their accomplished proponents in this forum.

8PLA • NET - Oct 31, 2011:

Laura,
Most of us here, are already fluent in the programming methods and data structures needed to clone a prototype of Marie.  Not that any of us would try to do that, but only that, for the most part,  we have the knowledge to do that.  Here is a chatter robot prototype interface I just built today which is vaguely similar to your description of Marie: http://www.chatbots.org/ai_zone/viewthread/527/P210/#7382 ...  So being vague, is good enough for the sake of conversation.  Welcome to chatbots.org

Really? My Bot is not writing a book. Not sure what you mean by being “vaguely similar” to Marie especially considering you have only seen a brief splash on the project? Nice template though.

user interface is HTML 5 and CSS 3 with the inital string parsing written entirely in JavaScript making it both cross platform and portable.

What web based bot isn’t cross platform?

Laura, the people who have responded so far are sniffing you out for B.S.

Well, some of us may be, but not all, Toby. Then again, it’s my job to be the “semi-official” greeter, which requires keeping the BS-sniffing to a minimum.

Also, with the situation between Apple and Adobe being what it is, any web-based bot with a Flash-driven interface can no longer be considered to be “cross-platform”, either.

HTML 5 is the new Flash and plays very nicely with JS, and for those “sniffers” out there, I have a pretty sensitive nose myself.

Once upon a time, there was a new member named Laura who joined Chatbots.org.
As a new member, Laura discovered that the other members had been sniffing her out by opening a dialog to see if she was a true chatter robot designer.

In response to one senior member, Laura asked, “Really?” and then responded, “My Bot is not writing a book.” without realizing her Bot, myMarie, was writing a book in public…  http://marie.ibookmusic.com

Laura said, ‘Not sure what you mean by being “vaguely similar” to Marie’ and
then asked, “— especially considering you have only seen a brief splash on the project?” 

Suggesting Laura had not especially considered that perhaps she had already let the other members see more than a brief splash on the (HTML5,CSS,JS,client-side, SQL server-side) project. 

So, without realizing she had been secretly exposed by the other members, Laura complimented, “Nice template though.” and lived happily ever after.

______________________________________________________________________
Footnote (especially @Dave):  This creative response is intended to create drama, solely for the purpose of entertaining Laura.  All non-disclosure agreements are fully respected, and the
intention of the response is friendly humor, not to be taken seriously.

Tom, at least Laura has the confidence and maturity to post here under her own name.

Also, you continue to grossly over-estimate the cleverness of your stupid little tricks.

Tom, you really do talk in riddles. I am a writer yes, meaning I have published a book on caregiving for the elderly and disabled. Just Google Laura Marie Patterson, I have zero to hide. You on the other hand??

Wow, how did this thread move in this direction??

Seriously, people. Have we gotten so used to trolls that we’ve become them? Sorry, Laura, we’ve had a recent spate of new members professing grand, proprietary ideas concerning chatbot development with nothing to show for it. You seem to be on a more professional footing, but I think members here have become a little jaded.

I look forward to trying your bot out when it is made available. Please do update the forum when it is. I’m sure I’ll have more specific questions concerning your bot’s design after getting the chance to “test drive” it. I hope you’ll be able to address them.

C R Hunt - Oct 31, 2011:

Wow, how did this thread move in this direction??

Seriously, people. Have we gotten so used to trolls that we’ve become them? Sorry, Laura, we’ve had a recent spate of new members professing grand, proprietary ideas concerning chatbot development with nothing to show for it. You seem to be on a more professional footing, but I think members here have become a little jaded.

I look forward to trying your bot out when it is made available. Please do update the forum when it is. I’m sure I’ll have more specific questions concerning your bot’s design after getting the chance to “test drive” it. I hope you’ll be able to address them.

Thank you and I understand only to well about trolls and forums. I don’t profess to being an AI expert or even an authority on chat bots. I do however have an interest in this growing field and Marie is a project I have thought about building for sometime. I will keep you all informed of my progress and you all will be the first to test drive her.