The Gargoyle

For several years (summer of '98 is when it started in earnest, I believe) I have been building a toy AI, the Gargoyle. It isn't really an AI, just a fun little system that occasionally makes a half-hearted attempt at looking intelligent. People on Migdard can add phrases (or quips, in garg lingo) to its database (now up to 11,300). There are several interaction modes, but the main focus is the query, where an input string is taken and the Gargoyle looks for the 'best' quip to respond with. This can be in response to a direct question, or just because the Gargoyle saw a question in the ambient conversation on the MOO. There is also a web interface that I use to provide my talking media players (the DJ and VJ) at home with weird things to say about what they're playing.

( Continued here )