Package: megahal (8.1-3)

a conversation simulator that can learn as you talk to it

Conversation simulators are computer programs which give the appearance of conversing with a user in natural language. Such programs are effective because they exploit the fact that human beings tend to read much more meaning into what is said than is actually there; we are fooled into reading structure into chaos, and we interpret non-sequitur as valid conversation.

MegaHAL differs from conversation simulators such as Eliza in that it uses a Markov Model to learn how to hold a conversation. It is possible to teach MegaHAL to talk about new topics, and in different languages.