This document provides an introduction to AIML (Artificial Intelligence Markup Language) including its history, key elements, and upcoming AI events. It describes AIML as an XML dialect used to create natural language software agents, outlines some basic AIML categories and elements, and lists resources for learning more including free AIML implementations and upcoming conferences like the Loebner Prize and Chatbots 3.1.

1. Archivist Llewellyn
IEEE National Robotics Week in Second Life
April 15, 2011
An Introduction
Basic AIML:

2. Turing Test
“I propose to consider the question,
‘Can machines think?’… the best strategy is [for
the machine] to try to provide answers that would
naturally be given by a man.”
-- Alan Mathison Turing

3. Turing Test
Background
“The XML dialect called AIML was developed by Richard Wallace and a worldwide free software
community between the years of 1995 and 2002. It formed the basis for what was initially a
highly extended Eliza called "A.L.I.C.E." ("Artificial Linguistic Internet Computer Entity"), which
won the annual Loebner Prize Contest for Most Human Computer[1] three times, and was also
the Chatterbox Challenge[2] Champion in 2004.” - Wikipedia
“AIML, or Artificial Intelligence Markup Language, is an XML dialect for
creating natural language software agents.”
What is AIML?
RICHARD WALLACE
Winner of the Loebner Prize for artificial
intelligence, 2000, 2001 and 2004. Founder of
ALICE A.I. Foundation and Pandorabots, Inc.
Inventor of ALICE, AIML and SpellBinder.
Email drwallace@alicebot.org
Website http://www.alicebot.org
http://www.pandorabots.com

4. Turing Test
<aiml>
<category>
<pattern>Hello</pattern>
<template>Hi!</template>
</category>
</aiml>
AIML Elements
Category
Pattern
Template
XML wrapper for a unit of knowledge
The potential AI’s response(s) to the human query or comment
Direct Response, Non-varied
Human question, statement, utterance, or unfinished sentence using a wildcard

5. Turing Test
<aiml>
<category>
<pattern>DO YOU KNOW WHO * IS</pattern>
<template><srai>WHO IS <star/></srai></template>
</category>
</aiml>
AIML Elements
Wildcard
srai
XML wrapper for a unit of knowledge
Redirect, Wildcard
Redirect to another pattern

6. Turing Test
<category>
<pattern>YOUR A *</pattern>
<template>I think you mean "you’re" or "you are" not
"your."
<srai>YOU ARE A <star/></srai>
</template>
</category>
AIML Elements
Correction
srai
Spelling and grammar can be corrected by anticipating errors and redirecting
Correction Redirect, Wildcard
Redirect to another pattern

7. Turing Test
<aiml>
<category>
<pattern>GOOGLE *</pattern>
<template><![CDATA[http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=]]>
<star/> . <![CDATA[]]>
</template>
</category>
</aiml>
AIML Elements
URLs
cdata
XML wrapper for a unit of knowledge
Link, Wildcard
section of element content marked for the parser to interpret as only
character data, not markup

8. Turing Test
Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach
http://www.alicebot.org/style.pdf
Textbooks
The Elements of AIML Style
By Dr. Richard S. W A L L A C E
By Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig
http://www.amazon.com/Artificial-Intelligence-Modern-
Approach-3rd/dp/0136042597

9. Turing Test
Upcoming AI Contest
2011 Loebner Prize Contest
(October 19, 2011 - University of Exeter UK)
Rules: http://loebner.net/Prizef/2011_Contest/Loebner_Prize_Rules_2011.html
Prize money: $5,750 USD minimum
Submission dates: May 2 - June 6, 2011.
Finalists: Only the first 16 entries that meet the requirements will receive further evaluation
Background: "In 1990 Hugh Loebner agreed with The Cambridge
Center for Behavioral Studies to underwrite a contest designed to
implement the Turing Test. Dr. Loebner pledged a Grand Prize of
$100,000 and a Gold Medal for the first computer whose responses
were indistinguishable from a human's. Such a computer can be said
"to think." Each year an annual prize of $2000 and a bronze medal is
awarded to the most human-like computer. The winner of the annual
contest is the best entry relative to other entries that year, irrespective of how good it is in an
absolute sense.“ http://www.loebner.net/Prizef/loebner-prize.html.
Example: http://loebner.net/Prizef/JComm.txt

10. Turing Test
http://www.alicebot.org/aimlbots.html
Upcoming AI Conference
Chatbots 3.1 Conference
April 23, 2011
FOURTH COLLOQUIUM ON
CONVERSATIONAL SYSTEMS
Cost: $150 USD
Register: http://chatbots31.eventbrite.com/
AIML Bots
AIML Spinoffs
Non-AIML Chat Robots
Chat Robot Communities
Networking

11. Turing Test
http://www.alicebot.org/downloads/sets.html
Complete Chat Bots
Free / Open Source AIML Implementations
Actively developed:
RebeccaAIML (C++, Java, .NET/C#,
Python, Eclipse AIML editor plugin)
Program D (Java, J2EE)
Program R (Ruby)
Program Q (C++, Qt)
Program W (Java)
CHAT4D edit and run (delphi) (french)
Program O (PHP/MySQL)
Program# (.NET/C#)
French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish