Count from 1 to 10 with fun and colorful pop-up robots!

From Facebook Messenger to Kik, and from Slack bots to Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and email bots, the new conversational apps are revolutionizing the way we interact with software. This practical guide shows you how to design and build great conversational experiences and delightful bots that help people be more productive, whether it’s for a new consumer service or an enterprise efficiency product. Ideal for designers, product managers, and entrepreneurs, this book explores what works and what doesn’t in real-world bot examples, and provides practical design patterns for your bot-building toolbox. You’ll learn how to use an effective onboarding process, outline different flows, define a bot personality, and choose the right balance of rich control and text. Explore different bot use-cases and design best practices Understand bot anatomy—such as brand and personality, conversations, advanced UI controls—and their associated design patterns Learn steps for building a Facebook Messenger consumer bot and a Slack business bot Explore the lessons learned and shared experiences of designers and entrepreneurs who have built bots Design and prototype your first bot, and experiment with user feedback

An expert on mind considers how animals and smart machines measure up to human intelligence. Octopuses can open jars to get food, and chimpanzees can plan for the future. An IBM computer named Watson won on Jeopardy! and Alexa knows our favorite songs. But do animals and smart machines really have intelligence comparable to that of humans? In Bots and Beasts, Paul Thagard looks at how computers ("bots") and animals measure up to the minds of people, offering the first systematic comparison of intelligence across machines, animals, and humans. Thagard explains that human intelligence is more than IQ and encompasses such features as problem solving, decision making, and creativity. He uses a checklist of twenty characteristics of human intelligence to evaluate the smartest machines--including Watson, AlphaZero, virtual assistants, and self-driving cars--and the most intelligent animals--including octopuses, dogs, dolphins, bees, and chimpanzees. Neither a romantic enthusiast for nonhuman intelligence nor a skeptical killjoy, Thagard offers a clear assessment. He discusses hotly debated issues about animal intelligence concerning bacterial consciousness, fish pain, and dog jealousy. He evaluates the plausibility of achieving human-level artificial intelligence and considers ethical and policy issues. A full appreciation of human minds reveals that current bots and beasts fall far short of human capabilities.

A guide to designing and building warrior robots, including information on choosing materials, radio control systems, electric motors, robot batteries, motor speed controllers, gasoline engines, and drive trains.

Come and meet Octobot, Crocobot, and the rest of the gang with Clever Bots: Busy Bots! Have you ever wondered what an octopus made from a coat hook would look like? Or a crocodile made from pliers? How about a fish made from a lightbulb? Wonder no more, because Roger Priddy’s fantastically quirky imagination has created them all in this unique book. Each page has tactile embossing, specially designed to stimulate young children through sensory play, and bouncy rhyming text, great for reading out loud. These quirky characters are sure to spark creativity, encourage young children to think about recycling and inspire them to invent their very own Bot creatures.

As a salesperson, you need confidence and passion to win. But as buyers and robots continue to gain power, it's easy to feel beaten down in a world where customers no longer seem to need you. As deals fall through and commissions dwindle, you feel desperation begin to sink in. Blow after blow, you wonder: Am I going to lose the career I love-to a robot?Anita Nielsen shows you how to get up off the mat and come out swinging. You don't need another impractical system or framework that can easily be copied by any other sales professional. Everything you need to regain your confidence and win in this new sales landscape is already in you, waiting to be unlocked. Anita gives you the keys: a series of trench tales, high-impact questions, and a thought process that shows you how to use the power of personalized value to differentiate yourself and win better, bigger, and more. Beat the Bots helps you ensure customers won't want to buy from anyone, or anything, else-not even a bot

Bots – automated software applications programmed to perform tasks online – have become a feature of our everyday lives, from helping us navigate online systems to assisting us with online shopping. Yet, despite enabling internet users, bots are increasingly associated with disinformation and concerning political intervention. In this ground-breaking book, Monaco and Woolley offer the first comprehensive overview of the history of bots, tracing their varied applications throughout the past sixty years and bringing to light the astounding influence these computer programs have had on how humans understand reality, communicate with each other, and wield power. Drawing upon the authors' decade of experience in the field, this book examines the role bots play in politics, social life, business, and artificial intelligence. Despite bots being a fundamental part of the web since the early 1990s, the authors reveal how the socially oriented ones continue to play an integral role in online communication globally, especially as our daily lives become increasingly automated. This timely book is essential reading for students and scholars in Media and Communication Studies, Sociology, Politics, and Computer Science, as well as general readers with an interest in technology and public affairs.