It’s been quite a while since my original interview (also here) with Ray Kurzweil’s cyber alter-ego and chatbot, Ramona.
There have been a few changes in her life since last we spoke. She no longer has the pet frog. Apparently there is now some guy in her life named Klaus, but we didn’t get very far with that. She still gets a little mixed up from time to time — I don’t know how she got the idea that my name is “how are you,” for example — but it’s really interesting to follow the thread of the conversation as it flows into and out of lucidity.
One thing I’ve noticed is that her abrupt changes of subject don’t necessarily mean that she has nothing to say on the previous subject. If you press her, she will sometimes give up a little more. But not always.
Anyway, her thoughts on the Turing test and the mediocrity theory were new (to me) and made for some interesting discussion. But she is of no use if you want to get insider information on the upcoming film version of The Singularity Is Near. On that subject, she apparently has nothing whatever to say.