Intelligent Agent
Intelligent agents are software programs that can perform
functions that are similar to the functions that humans can perform. For
example, intelligent agents can hold a conversation with a human. Intelligent
agents are great for fun. You can chat with an intelligent agent and see
whether the conversation makes sense. Since the technology has not been
perfected, it sometimes doesn’t.
Intelligent agents are also an excellent customer service
tool. For example, an intelligent agent may be able to interpret a plain
language question and provide an answer. They can also point the user to additional
resources. As such, intelligent agents can be used as a user-friendly interface
to complex databases.
How can you know when intelligent agents are as good as
humans? A scientist called Turning provided the answer. According to him,
intelligent agents will be as good as humans when a human holding a
conversation with the intelligent agent cannot tell the difference. In other
words, this is the case when the person cannot tell the difference between
holding a conversation between the intelligent agent and another human. This
way to test an intelligent agent is called a Tuning test.
