Linguists and computer scientists say this is something to consider on April Fools’ Day: Humour is what makes humans special. When people try to teach machines what’s funny, the results are at times laughable but not in the way intended.
Ginger, which uses human-written jokes and stories, does a bit about Shakespeare and machines, asking, “If you prick me in my battery pack, do I not bleed alkaline fluid?” in a reference to The Merchant of Venice.
WATCH: Is this the future of newscasts?
IBM has created artificial intelligence that beat opponents in chess and Jeopardy! Its latest attempt, Project Debater, is more difficult because it is based on language and aims to win structured arguments with people, said principal investigator Noam Slonim, a former comedy writer for an Israeli version of Saturday Night Live.
WATCH: Can a robot perform improv comedy?