Artificial Intelligence Tested Online

Your new buddy on Second Life may not be a person at all, but rather a form of artificial intelligence.

The AP has an interesting write-up about how researchers are now using the online world to develop new AI technology. Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are testing their creations there to see how convincingly they can think on their own and interact with real people.

“It’s a fantastic sweet spot — not too simple, not too complicated, high cultural value,” one of the institute’s directors said.

Would you be fooled? Read more about the technology here.