Sep 7
Crossed Wires
Radar magazine attempts to play the interlocutor between Sgt. STAR, a US Army recruitment avatar, and Anna, an IKEA chat-bot:
Radar: What you got for guns, STAR?
Sgt. STAR: During basic training you will learn Basic Rifle Marksmanship and are required to qualify as marksman, sharpshooter, or expert on the M16A2 rifle to graduate.
Radar: Be honest, Anna. Would you rather have an M16A2 —- or some crappy drop-leaf table?
Anna: Please have a look at the tables.
Radar: I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.
Anna: I have every confidence you will.
Mildly amusing, but I think it’d be funnier if Sgt. STAR and Anna “talked” to each other directly. The prejudices of the human (Bush = Bad; Gay = Good, etc.) gets in the way of machine-to-machine “communication,” which can quickly achieve Zen-like weirdness. Maybe I’ll give it a try or experiment with some different bots if I get the time.
