Intelligent, Chatty Machines

A computer startup hopes to have meaningful conversations with people.

Well, it seems that a new wave is sweeping the computer world. Cognitive Code, a new software company, has developed a platform that they named SILVIA. This isn’t a windows type, make your webpages run smoother, fix bugs in the system platform. It’s a program that will allow your computer to carry on a conversation with you. And not just your computer, the company is apparently branching out to include cell phones, toys, and gadgets that we use frequently in our daily lives.

Imagine, turning on your computer, and it asks how your day has been. Of course, some do that anyway, but what if you said your day has been awful, and your computer consoles you? Why, this may replace the need for friends! Well, not likely, but it could be a great device. There have been toys around for years that will carry on conversations with children, however, these have been pre-programmed to speak with only a certain amount of pre-loaded phrases. The software that Cognitive Code has built will allow you to “tell” your computer to send messages to people, and it will comply.

Technologically speaking, SILVIA stands for Symbolically Isolated Linguistically Variable Intelligence Algorithm. Simply put, that just means that she’ll hold a meaningful conversation with you, remembering key points and understanding exactly what you’re telling her. She has been tested, and has responded by extracting the meaning from the phrases spoken, and not just the words. She actually understands what’s being said to her and remembers the conversation, AND she can operate a search engine function or send emails. This must be what a real virtual assistant is like. She can open and close word documents on a verbal command, and they expect her to be compatible with Windows, Mac, or Linux operating systems. This could really be the new assistant of the future. They also believe that the system will be compatible with smart phones. They are, at the present, leaning toward the toy market, and plans are to have SILVIA in toys within the next year or so.

They are still working out some minor kinks, and some aren’t sure that we’re ready for our computers to totally take over our daily tasks. They’re not sure how difficult SILVIA will be to use, and what problems she may create. For instance if you told her to delete a file, and she chose the wrong one, then you may not have any way of retrieving it. So, there are things to be considered. Although it sounds like a good idea, there are many things that go into creating a software such as SILVIA, and tests after tests must be run to ensure that it is a safe product, and that any major glitches in the system are worked out before it’s released to the general public.

So, apparently they’ll try it out in toys first, just to see if she’s as good as they hope. Who knows, we may wake up in a year or two and our computer could be at our bedside, coffee in hand.

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