Chatbots and Automated Avatars in Second Life

As it happens, it's an ideal fit. Go to almost any shop in SL (even high profile ones like Adidas, Reuters or American Apparel) and you'll find it empty. No sales staff. Whilst this might seem like heaven sometimes, it would be useful if there was actually someone to answer basic, or even more complex questions. Understandably putting a real-life person on "avatar duty" might not be cost-effective - so why not deploy a chatbot?

The text based nature of much virtual world communications makes an ideal environment for chatbots. Also since everything is virtual the chatbot can have as virtual a representation as anything else in world. Suddenly we've broken down two of the big barriers to chatbots that we encounter on the web.

You can use chatbots in a variety of ways:

- as "greeters" within SL shops and information centers
- as proper virtual customer service assistants
- as inforomation staff
- as tour guides
- as virtual companions
- as non-player characters in games and e-dramas
- as virtual personal assistants

We are deploying chatbots using a range of technologies - depending on the requirements of the role. For instance we are using:

- pure Linden Script Language (LSL) pre-programmed chatbots (the classic "greeter"
- LSL scripted directed learning chatbots
- LSL scripted auto-learning chatbots
- HUD based chatbots
- our web hosted Discourse chatbot engine (featuring AIML, RDF, topic map and web interface support)using an AJAX style link into Second Life (and allowing you to deploy the same chatbot on the web).

We are also working on emotion and motivation engines in order to create true virtual companions. You can read more about our chatbots on our micro-site at www.chatbots.co.uk.

If you'd like to deploy a chatbot in support of your activity in Second Life or another virtual world then please contact us using the link top right, or IM Corro Moseley within Second Life.

And where's this all headed? Well to quote Philip Rosedale, CEO Linden Labs- "I think there are interesting questions about this whole thing of computers thinking," he says. "The next thing beyond SL is whether things in there can think."

A chatbot and virtual assistant