Wednesday, 4 May 2011

That's Certainly What I Said

A computer which can accurately use innuendo may not sound productive at first, and spending time to develop the necessary software seems like a waste of resources...until you realise that this actually furthers our understanding of how humour works. The essential ingredients which make a joke funny are difficult to distill, and often we may laugh without understanding why. Programming a computer to be able to generate a funny statement in 22 out of 28 attempts is really quite impressive. This sort of research may someday lead to  improved artificial intelligence, and a better understanding of communication.

Also, I suspect the focus on this particular class of humour was not because it was juvenile, but because it was easier for a computer to replicate. Sophisticated humour is harder to spin, even for a human.

In other news, my plant is doing well.

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