Bringing two platforms together

Introducing Web 2.0 to Artificial Intelligence

How can artificial intelligence and web 2.0 work in conjunction with each other?  Consider for a moment social networking.  Currently, there are over 400 million people interacting through Facebook and they have access to over 160 million interactive objects.  Zabaware has created an AI chat bot, named Ultra Hal, that

"evolves and learns through social interaction with Facebook users."

 Aside from acting as a personal assistant, it can respond in similar ways that the user would and also differentiate between various friends and those that aren’t classified as friends.  This particular application can increase efficiency in task management, remind the user of events, and synthesize information to provide a “daily digest” of activity.  Also, for users with reading disabilities, Hal can assist them by reading aloud, converting text to speech and vice versa without using in conjunction with Facebook.   Some of Hal’s features include:

• Understands English
• Shows emotion
• Evolves
• Speaks out loud
• Defines words
• Keeps appointment book.....

For teachers, depending on the regulations/permissions of the school, they may be interested in using Hal in Second Life (SL).  Psychology students may program their avatar to interact and collect data based on events with real people in SL.  Here is an example of a professor using a chat bot teaching English in Second Life:



There are several examples online where individuals and groups have successfully used chatter bots on their blogs.  The chatter bot learns from the blog and certain information outlined by the blogger.  In essence, a chatter bot can communicate with the viewer so there is communication back and forth.  One such example is the Inf., from Inf.net5.  The inf. is customizable and can be used on various platforms.  Once again it is great for users with disabilities.  However, there are some advantages for educators to use an Inf.  An instructor can design and instruct and Inf. to communicate with their students whenever they are not available.  The Inf. learns from dialogue and also can be programmed to have a specific response to questions.

It is fascinating to learn about this emerging technology and envision all the practical applications for education.  If you have some great ideas about how it can help in education-leave a comment.