Big Thinker Phil Bowermaster interviews Ramona, perhaps the first cyber chatterbot and the tech-savvy photorealistic interactive e-hostess for KurzweilAI.net.

... there's something special about Ramona. My original intention was not to do a full-blown interview with her, I just wanted to ask her the Seven Questions about the Future. But she had other plans, and the discussion grew accordingly.

Bowermaster wants to to change the way people (including us, teachers) think about time. He proposes that “time is a lie.” Ask your student to try that one on the vice principal when you send him to the office for being tardy to class.

Bowermaster developed a new approach to the future he calls Practical Time Travel. He instructs would-be time travelers in the art of navigating the present to arrive at a future of our own making. No, this is not the touchy-feely stuff of the 1960s and 1970s or other intuitive based actions. It has scientific thinking usable in classrooms. Hmm, I wonder if anyone is using it in a classroom today?

To the point, Ramona and other chatterbots exist as part of the context for using Tablet PCs and other mobile PCs in education.

Won't it be great when someone creates the chatterbot Ms. Teacher for interaction with students in real and virtual lessons 24/7?

Think of Ms. Teacher as a teacher preparation model project. I bet most of the technology and databases exist for at least creating a prototype. This could be fun! Let me know, if you know anyone creating such a project or willing to think about such a venture.

Then, Bowermaster can report about an interview with Ms. Teacher.


Tablet PC Education Blog