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Thursday, January 08, 2009

Pentagon Wants Loving Chat-Bot to Calm Troops' Kids

Note: Play Twilight Zone Theme Here

Pentagon Wants Loving Chat-Bot to Calm Troops' Kids

Now that the Predator drone has convinced the U.S. military of the power of killer robots, the Pentagon has put up a call for a loving, family-oriented artificial intelligence. The Department of Defense is soliciting proposals from small businesses for a computer program that would replicate troops serving abroad, during phone conversations and video conferences with their families.

The program, first reported by Outguessing the Machine and later covered by Slate, is billed as a "Virtual Dialogue Application for Families of Deployed Service Members. It's meant to address the strain on children caused by long deployments -- by using the same kind of automated voice recognition software that airlines, banks, and phone companies all use to keep us from real customer service. The program would play pre-recorded messages from service members when prompted by phrases like "I love you" or "I miss you mommy/daddy." The software would be specifically aimed at young children, although the exact age range has yet to be determined.

Note: How Orwellian.

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