Friday, April 10, 2009

Shakespearebot is Disappointing

Obviously, Shakespearebot was created by people who have no understanding of Elizabethan English. Did they ever read a single play by Shakespeare? Here. Check this exchange I just had, feeding W.C.W. to Shakespeare.

Maybe someone should explain that "thee" was the objective case. That would just be the start. There is zero understanding of the grammar of the period, really. They don't know a third person singular from a first person plural. And many a kid in high school could have told the programmers what phrases to use here.

It's a shame because it's a cute site. I was quixotically excited, because I thought maybe they had loaded the bot up with Shakespearean quotations from the plays and the bot was going to have a gift for relevance of response based on the plays.

That would have been sort of nifty.

You Say:so much depends
Shakespearebot:So was that.
You Say:upon
Shakespearebot:Are thee a man or a woman?
You Say:a red wheel
Shakespearebot:Beseech me another question.
You Say:barrow
Shakespearebot:Canst we get back to business?
You Say:glazed with rain
Shakespearebot:Tell me about thine likes and dislikes?
You Say:water
Shakespearebot:Dost thee hath any idea what I am talking about?
You Say:beside the white
Shakespearebot:I shalt mention that to my botmaster, my friend.
You Say:chickens
Shakespearebot:Oh, thee are a poet.

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