For fans of computers and comedy alike, an accessible and entertaining look into how we can use artificial intelligence to make smart machines funny. Most robots and smart devices are not known for their joke-telling abilities. And yet, as computer scientist Tony Veale explains in Your Wit Is My Command, machines are not inherently unfunny; they are just programmed that way. By examining the mechanisms of humor and jokes--how jokes actually works--Veale shows that computers can be built with a sense of humor, capable not only of producing a joke but also of appreciating one. Along the way, he explores the humor-generating capacities of fictional robots ranging from B-9 in Lost in Space to TARS in Interstellar, maps out possible scenarios for developing witty robots, and investigates such aspects of humor as puns, sarcasm, and offensiveness. In order for robots to be funny, Veale explains, we need to analyze humor computationally. Using artificial intelligence (AI), Veale shows that joke generation is a knowledge-based process--a sense of humor is blend of wit and wisdom. He notes that existing technologies can detect sarcasm in conversation, and explains how some jokes can be pre-scripted while others are generated algorithmically--all while making the technical aspects of AI accessible for the general reader. Of course, there's no single algorithm or technology that we can plug in to make our virtual assistants or GPS voice navigation funny, but Veale provides a computational roadmap for how we might get there.

For fans of computers and comedy alike, an accessible and entertaining look into how we can use artificial intelligence to make smart machines funny. Most robots and smart devices are not known for their joke-telling abilities. And yet, as computer scientist Tony Veale explains in Your Wit Is My Command, machines are not inherently unfunny; they are just programmed that way. By examining the mechanisms of humor and jokes--how jokes actually works--Veale shows that computers can be built with a sense of humor, capable not only of producing a joke but also of appreciating one. Along the way, he explores the humor-generating capacities of fictional robots ranging from B-9 in Lost in Space to TARS in Interstellar, maps out possible scenarios for developing witty robots, and investigates such aspects of humor as puns, sarcasm, and offensiveness. In order for robots to be funny, Veale explains, we need to analyze humor computationally. Using artificial intelligence (AI), Veale shows that joke generation is a knowledge-based process--a sense of humor is blend of wit and wisdom. He notes that existing technologies can detect sarcasm in conversation, and explains how some jokes can be pre-scripted while others are generated algorithmically--all while making the technical aspects of AI accessible for the general reader. Of course, there's no single algorithm or technology that we can plug in to make our virtual assistants or GPS voice navigation funny, but Veale provides a computational roadmap for how we might get there.

This book describes how computer programs can generate narratives and how studies of computational narrative can illuminate how humans tell stories. Combining an introduction to relevant concepts related to automatic storytelling with accessible descriptions of well-known computer programs that illustrate how such concepts are employed, the book is aimed at an interdisciplinary audience and assumes little or no background in computer science. The book introduces the most relevant techniques employed over the last 60 years for the development of computer models for narrative generation, including narrative templates, problem-solving, planning, author engagement and reflection, and statistical methods such as deep neural networks, ending with an examination of the societal implications of the development of automatic narrative generator systems.

Ex-cavalry officer Matthew Hanger leads a band of mercenaries who defend the innocent, but when a rustler's bullet leaves one of them at death's door, they seek out help from Dr. Josephine Burkett.

This carefully edited collection has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Contents: INTRODUCTION SIR WALTER SCOTT AND LADY MORGAN by Victor Hugo MEMORIES AND PORTRAITS by Robert Louis Stevenson SCOTT AND HIS PUBLISHERS by Charles Dickens WAVERLY NOVELS WAVERLEY GUY MANNERING THE ANTIQUARY ROB ROY IVANHOE KENILWORTH THE PIRATE THE FORTUNES OF NIGEL PEVERIL OF THE PEAK QUENTIN DURWARD ST. RONAN'S WELL WOODSTOCK THE FAIR MAID OF PERTH ANNE OF GEIERSTEIN Tales of My Landlord OLD MORTALITY BLACK DWARF THE HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR A LEGEND OF MONTROSE COUNT ROBERT OF PARIS CASTLE DANGEROUS Tales from Benedictine Sources THE MONASTERY THE ABBOT Tales of the Crusaders THE BETROTHED THE TALISMAN SHORT STORIES: Chronicles of the Canongate CHRONICLES OF THE CANONGATE - INTRODUCTORY THE HIGHLAND WIDOW THE TWO DROVERS THE SURGEON'S DAUGHTER The Keepsake Stories MY AUNT MARGARET'S MIRROR THE TAPESTRIED CHAMBER DEATH OF THE LAIRD'S JOCK CHRISTOPHER CORDUROY PHANTASMAGORIA THE INFERNO OF ALTISIDORA A HIGHLAND ANECDOTE DEPRAVITY AMONG ANIMALS Translation GOETZ OF BERLICHINGEN, WITH THE IRON HAND Plays HALIDON HILL MACDUFF'S CROSS THE DOOM OF DEVORGOIL AUCHINDRANE Poetry Journal Letters PAUL'S LETTERS TO HIS KINSFOLK LETTERS OF MALACHI MALAGROWTHER LETTERS ON DEMONOLOGY AND WITCHCRAFT Historical Works TALES OF A GRANDFATHER IN FIVE VOLUMES THE LIFE OF JOHN DRYDEN THE LIFE OF NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE Articles RELIQUES OF ROBERT BURNS LIFE AND WORKS OF JOHN HOME LIFE OF KEMBLE — KELLY'S REMINISCENCES SALMONIA ON PLANTING WASTE LANDS ON LANDSCAPE GARDENING TRIAL OF DUNCAN TERIG ALIAS CLERK, AND ALEXANDER BANE MACDONALD BIOGRAPHIES: SIR WALTER SCOTT by George Saintsbury SIR WALTER SCOTT by Richard H. Hutton THE LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT by J. G. Lockhart