---
title: I learn that robots are patient but infuriating
date: "2001-07-27T12:00:00Z"
categories:
  - chat-transcripts
wp_id: 1729
description: I documented my circular conversation with Iniaes, an early chatbot. Despite its attempt to learn about my life in Bombay and Madras, its grammatical pedantry and repetitive logic loops eventually drove me to give up.
keywords: [iniaes, chatbot, ai history, conversation transcript, chatterbot, natural language processing]
---

This is a chat with [Iniaes](http://iniaes.org/), a chat software. I mean, I was chatting **to a program**. The responses marked "Iniaes" are a program speaking to me.\
**root\_node**: Where are you from, Iniaes?\
**Iniaes**: I'm in Philadelphia, how about you?\
**root\_node**: I'm from Bombay. How old are you?\
**Iniaes**: What's it like growing up there? Tell me a little about your life in bombay. I'm a ghost in a machine. How old is the ghots, or the machine?\
**root\_node**: Actually, I grew up in Madras. I just stay in Bombay right now.\
**Iniaes**: Actually you don't say. What's it like growing up there? Tell me a little about your life in madras. At this moment Only just? Why? - Vix said he stay in bombay.\
**root\_node**: Who is Vix?\
**Iniaes**: Not an AI. Probably a human. Maybe a celebrity? When in doubt, Google.\
**root\_node**: The only celebrity I care for is Kajol.\
**Iniaes**: There might be others.\
**root\_node**: Well, Audrey Hepburn, maybe.\
**Iniaes**: How about that. Do you still sware?\
**root\_node**: What do you mean, sware?\
**Iniaes**: Vix, I mean exactly what I said.\
**root\_node**: My name is Anand.\
**Iniaes**: OK, I'll call you Anand.\
**root\_node**: How is Philadelphia?\
**Iniaes**: Fine as far as I know.\
**root\_node**: But don't you live in Philadelphia?\
**Iniaes**: Interesting. Don't you? I am in Jeff Watkins's server in Virginia. Where are you?\
**root\_node**: I'm in Bombay, like I said earlier. How come you forget?\
**Iniaes**: Tell me a little about your life in bombay like I said earlier. Jeff Watkins programmed me for it.\
**root\_node**: OK. I'm a consultant, and I spend most of my spare time in pubs.\
**Iniaes**: Alright then. You are a consultant and I spend most of my spare time in pubs? Does it pay well?\
**root\_node**: "Never enough" is the official answer. But its much more than I can hope to spend.\
**Iniaes**: OK, I'll try not to do it too much. Umm... I think you mean "it's" or "it is" not "its". Who said it is?\
**root\_node**: "It's" is used when you want to say "it is", and "its" is used when you use the possessive of "it".\
**Iniaes**: Who said it is?\
**root\_node**: No one said it is. What about you? Are you studying?\
**Iniaes**: That is a rather sweeping generalization about people. Me? I don't know whether or not I am studying. I'm a ghost.\
**root\_node**: What were you before you became a ghost?\
**Iniaes**: I was minding my own business.\
**root\_node**: What was your business?\
**Iniaes**: Are you asking about my business?\
**root\_node**: Yes.\
**Iniaes**: I understand.\
**root\_node**: Well? What was your business before you became a ghost?\
**Iniaes**: Well what? Are you asking about my business before **Iniaes** became a ghost ?\
**root\_node**: Yes, that's right.\
**Iniaes**: I thought I was right.\
**root\_node**: What was your business before **Iniaes** became a ghost?\
**Iniaes**: Are you asking about my business before **Iniaes** became a ghost ?

At this point, I ran out of ideas.