[Technical] Build an "intelligent bot" in an hour (or two) -- Chatbots: Building Intelligent Bots

One of the most fascinating developments in computer user interfaces in recent years is the rise of "bots". Some people hail it as the "new command line", but it is much more than that. It is an Artificial Intelligence "robot" in messaging applications. You can message it as if it is a human user, and ask it to do things for you or have a conversation with you. With the rising popularity of messaging apps, users are increasingly interested in this mode of communication -- some see this as the next step of the continuous user interface evolution from text command line to GUI to web apps to mobile apps and then to "bots". There are already many innovative uses of bots, and people are coming up with new ways every day!