PreludeIRC is an autonomous self-learning chatbot based on the PreludeJ-Engine incorporating the great (and free!) PircBot Java IRC implementation (my thanks to Paul Mutton!)
Where to find PreludeIRC: Presently, a PreludeIRC Bot waits for you to chat with on*:
IRC Server: irc-chat.net:6669
Channel: #Wasteland
(*Either use your own favourite IRC Client (like Virc) or use the IRC applet provided here - in another channel though: irc.ircstorm.net:6669, #Prelude). PreludeIRC's availability depends on my home server running, of course :-)
Some hints... before you get frustrated: Consider the bot to be like a child. It wants to learn and for that, it will come up with all kinds of sentences. Sometimes it matches the context, but at other times it just repeats something it heard. Through your answers and explanations it will learn more and more. You can talk about pretty much anything. The more topics are covered, the deeper your conversations will be :-).
Enjoy!
Note: Your Privacy is important to me. None of your chats with my bots are recorded. Although it temporarily learns everything you teach him while chatting, unless you enter the key word "learn" nothing of your conversation will be written to its static memory. This means too, that during your next chat it will have forgotten the bits and pieces you told Prelude. So, if you have nothing to hide and would like other users to benefit from your teaching, just enter "learn" once in a while, and Prelude will update her memory file with whatever she learned during her talk with you. Thank you!
Background Details: Since its first release (fall 2003) Prelude has undergone a constant "metamorphosis".
The latest Prelude version, PreludeIRC, is based on the PreludeJ-Engine, a recent Java port of the original Prelude Engine, which was developed in C++ (which is free for download here).
What is the difference between PreludeJ and Prelude? The basic concept is still the same (see how it works here), but during the port some of the algorithms have been revised and (hopefully :-) optimized. The PreludeJ Engine remains to be the core of a self learning, teachable chatbot, which learns and grows smarter through each single user input.
Nevertheless, there are some new features. A very interesting one might be this:
PreludeJ revises her own memory file from time to time. She is back-checking the newly learnt stuff with her memory file ("mind") and in case she finds something to be a better answer, she will overwrite existing entries. Thus she is not just learning, and adding stuff to her memory file but does some (limited) cleaning and "upgrading". I know, this feature is cool. It was really overdue :-).
If you have any questions or problems feel free to post a message or contact Prelude's developer!