NoaLIZA

NoaLIZA (New OpenAim-based eLIZA) is an AIM interface to an open-sourced AIML implementation of the classic ELIZA chat bot, and a framework for enabling AI-based AIM bots to be constructed using powerful, open, AIML-based tools.

ELIZA was designed and written in 1966 by Joseph Weizenbaum, intended to create an illusion of intelligence by mimicking a therapist or psychologist, by directing conversation through directing the user’s statements back to them as questions.

NoaLIZA is a recreation of this concept using the AIM instant messaging protocol as an interface to an open-source AIML-based recreation of ELIZA. It also acts as an initial proof-of-concept for an AIM-to-AIML interface for the creation of language processing AI-based AIM bots based on the open AIML standard.

History:

0.5 - 23/4/2008
Major performance increase, user limit increased accordingly
0.4 - 16/4/2008
Initial release

Potential Uses:

Whilst ELIZA, and by extension NoaLIZA, maybe not have any direct real-world applications, they offer a range of interesting toolsets and insights into AI and natural language processing that may be used as a base for powerful AI-based systems and research.

System Requirements:

NoaLIZA is accessible through any AIM-capable instant messaging client, the system can be accessed by simple sending a message to the AOL screenname noaliza to begin.

Usage:

NoaLIZA does not use any particular command syntax, relying instead on a flexible natural-language processing algorithm to parse regular English-language text-base messages. A session is automatically created for the user on receipt of the first message, and may be ending by sending a message with the text “quit”.

FAQ:

NoaLIZA doesn’t understand what I’m saying!
Whilst it may appear fairly ‘intelligent’ at times, NoaLIZA is in fact based on fairly simple algorithms and does have a limited set of topics and fields in which it is capable of carrying on a conversation. These are quite flexible and may be expanded in future or through ongoing conversation, though the process is not entirely automated.

Hasn’t this been done before?
ELIZA-based or equivalent bots have indeed been present on AIM several times in the past, however, it appears that most have since been decommissioned and are no longer operating. NoaLIZA is also believed to be the first lightweight, high-performance AIML-based instance, and is interesting from a technical viewpoint in being implemented entirely in C#