A new AI Twitterbot, @DeepDrumpf, sounds exactly like The Donald.
A new Twitterbot named @DeepDrumpf is making waves online with its uncanny ability to imitate GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.
A postdoc student from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab named Bradley Hayes has created the so-called Twitterbot, using an algorithm created by a technique in artificial intelligence called deep learning, according to a Discovery News report.
Basically, a computer can find patterns and learn in a way similar to human brains. It’s quite useful in science and the field of AI, but Hayes decided to have a little fun with it, creating @DeepDrumpf — a combination of “deep” for deep learning and “Drumpf” for Donald Trump’s less than flattering ancestral name, which television host John Oliver brought to light in a recent segment.
The algorithm uses transcripts from debates Trump has participated in, along with some of his speeches. It then takes that underlying structure and begins tweeting out made-up quotes from The Donald.
Because Trump uses very simplistic language, it makes it easier for researchers to create an algorithm that could mimic him.
It’s not perfect, and it’s clear a bot is tweeting due to how unintelligible some of the comments are. But there are definite similarities in the tone and the style of the syntax.
“Trump’s language tends to be more simplistic, so I figured that, as a modeling problem, he would be the most manageable candidate to study,” said Hayes according to an MIT article.
“Much of my actual robotics research deals with these types of modeling techniques,” he added. “I thought this would be a good way to learn more about some of the concepts, and have a little bit of fun in the process.”
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