Also known as chatbots, these are computer programs, web-based or not, with which one can hold a conversation. Some simulate artificial intelligence and many are humorous in nature. Focuses on creating genuine Artificial Intelligence - the technology that enables machines to converse with humans in natural language. Based on a groundbreaking approach, Ai's technology will pass the Turing Test for machine intelligence by 2011. Hobby project written in Visual Basic 6.0 by M.F.

Voice recognition software has been shown to reduce report turnaround time and holds promise for populating and mining structured reports -- but not all radiologists are convinced. Many users still find the software cumbersome and error prone, as seen in a recent informal Diagnostic Imaging poll where 80 percent of respondents said they use it, but 30 percent of them reported frustration with the software. And radiologists have steep demands for the software, experts said. With their need for accuracy and use of complex terms, fast-talking radiologists really put the systems to the test. "Radiologists are trying to provide an enormous amount of documentation in a very short period of time, accurately, and they are experts at grinding through that workflow and process as fast as they can," said Joe Petro, senior vice president of research and development for Nuance Healthcare. "They hold us to a much, much higher standard."

Every year the Loebner Prize for artificial intelligence is awarded to the chatbot software able to converse most like a human. It is a version of the Turing test, proposed in 1950 by Alan Turing. A program passes when a human judge cannot tell that they are talking to a machine. No machine has yet passed. But the winner of the Loebner Prize at the weekend – Elbot, brainchild of Fred Roberts at Artificial Solutions in Germany – came close, according to the contest's rather generous rules.

The field of artificial intelligence has been accompanied by a vigorous debate essentially from its very beginnings. Alan Turing addressed the issue of machine intelligence in 1950 in what is probably his most well known paper, "Computing Machinery and Intelligence," where he proposed the "Imitation Game," now known as the "Turing Test," as an operational definition for machine intelligence. The main focus of the paper is the possibility of machine intelligence. Turing carefully analyzed and rebutted arguments against machine intelligence and stated, "I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted." This view was later strenuously contested by philosophers such as Hubert Dreyfus and John Searle, who argued against the possibility of intelligent machines.

The idea of implanting brain chips into people to give them superhuman memory might sound like the plot of the latest science fiction film. But one pioneering neuroscientist is ready to start trialling this futuristic technology in humans. The memory chips have already been successfully tested in rats, and could one day be a commercially available product to allow anyone to boost their memory. The idea of implanting brain chips into people to give them supersonic memory might sound like the plot of the latest science fiction film. The pioneering software works to convert short-term memories into long-term ones, overall enhancing memory. To convert short-term memories into long-term ones, the brain send a pattern of electrical signals in a unique code.

Sting has had his brain scanned - so scientists can work out what makes gifted musicians tick. He underwent the examination at a Montreal university the afternoon before a Police concert in the city. Researchers say the scans uncovered an incredible ability to link seemingly different pieces of music together. A Montreal University -professor scanned Sting's brain the afternoon before a Police concert in the city in a bid to find how music is mapped in the brain. The results led to unexpected connections between the 1960s Beatles hit'Girl' and Astor Piazzolla's evocative tango composition'Libertango', at least in the mind of the famously eclectic singer songwriter.

In efforts to maintain privacy on the internet, many people will refrain from tagging themselves in photos or even blur their face to remain hidden. But according to a new study, these measures might not offer as much protection as you think. Researchers in Germany have developed a'Faceless Recognition System' that can identify people even when their faces are obscured, using cues from the head and body to make accurate predictions. Researchers in Germany have developed a'Faceless Recognition System' that can identify people even when their faces are obscured, using cues from the head and body to make accurate predictions Even when working with a small set of photos in which the faces were visible, at just 1.25 instances per tagged identity, the system performed with nearly 70 percent accuracy. When the number of visible faces increased to 10, the accuracy rate jumped to 91.5 percent.

The IQ test has long been dismissed as an inaccurate way to discern how intelligent a person really is - but now scientists may have found a better way. Researchers say MRI scans can measure human intelligence, and define exactly what it is. This could lead to radical leaps in AI with machines programmed to think in the same way we do. Researchers say MRI scans can measure human intelligence - and define what it is. This could lead to radical leaps in AI with machines programmed to think in the same way we do.

Robots could soon lend nurses a helping hand in the delivery ward. In a two-year study, researchers from MIT have investigated whether robots can effectively take on the job of a'resource nurse,' making complex decisions in a fast-paced environment. Resource nurses are tasked with making thousands of critical decisions, including bed assignments and selecting the right nurse to perform a C-section – and so far, the researchers found that doctors and nurses accepted the robot-made recommendations 90 percent of the time. Researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory trained a Nao robot to learn the differences between good and bad decisions on the delivery floor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical center in Boston In the study, the researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory trained a Nao robot to learn the differences between good and bad decisions on the delivery floor, according to CNN Money. Then, the robot named'Ginger' was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston to test out her skills.

Scientists are closer to creating a computer with emotions. Researchers in Russia are expected to reveal an emotional computer within a year and a half, which will be able to think like a person and build up trust, its creators say. The system, called'Virtual Actor', is being created by the National Research Nuclear University in Moscow. Computers are machines used for practical reasons, without any emotion involved. The AI, called'Virtual Actor', is expected to be online within the next year and a half.