Artificial intelligence meets real friendship

Once, he wrote, "I LOVE YOU!!" followed by a bunch of smiley faces with heart-eyes. Never failing, Ekhobot responded: "My intelligence may be artificial, but our bond is real. However, I'm not sure that a robot and a human would make good mates." Tucker answered: Lindsay Page, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education, has found in research that campus-sponsored chatbots can, in fact, spur students to action -- particularly to completing "well-defined and high-stakes tasks," like filling out financial aid forms.