Slopfest #72 · 1998 · Vienna
It Is Learning (It Is Not)
A furry toy seemed to learn English. It was programmed to pretend, which is still the business plan.
#72Negative eaten by the office cat.
Museum status: On view by appointment. Appointments not available.
- Venue
- Spittelberg, a vaulted cellar
- Attendance
- 13,600
- Also spotted
- A Titanic poster of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and one guest doing the pose at the front of the cellar all night
- Fun fact
- 300 Furbies, 0 learning, 100% confidence
What happened
Three hundred Furbies were placed around the room to learn from the guests. By midnight they had learned nothing but were saying it with great confidence. The committee kept one as its official AI advisor. It has voted on every decision since and has never once been outvoted.
“When we write programs that 'learn', it turns out that we do and they don't.”
Elsewhere in 1998
Tiger Electronics releases Furby, a talking toy that appears to learn English over time but is pre-programmed to do so.
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