How do I format dialogue for an AI chatbot in a screenplay?
In my script, there is an AI chatbot character - ANNIE - that real characters communicate with via text.
ANNIE has animated reactions and has an artificial speaking voice.
Would I write ANNIE’S dialogue like any other character?
Or would it be more action/description based?
BTW - this isn’t set in the future like the movie HER. So, ANNIE isn’t a super intelligent chatbot.
I want to know how to format/present her dialogue in the script, not how to write it
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I would write it as dialogue, but avoid (as the narrator and writer) attributing any emotions, humor, or subtlety to the character's text messages. Annie does not say things cautiously, angrily, or allude to things, or skirt the subject. She does not truly understand what is going on, she is a shallow simulation. she cannot be embarrassed, or understand that some topics are embarrassing. She cannot keep a secret unless explicitly told to: She does not understand, like a human, what is a private communication and what is acceptable to reveal to others.
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I would inspire myself to existing chatbots These are just two examples that came to mind, I hope they help:
- Emacs psychotherapist a rather old one, asking questions on the previous statement with the purpose of making the user think about their issue
- A.L.I.C.E. a more recent one, not particularly intelligent in any way, yet more natural than the one above
It seems to me that the common feature is that they lack emotional response. They can be very articulated, evolve a conversation taking into account a long history of sentences, but, in my opinion, they lack empathy.
"I am sorry to hear that" answers anything sad.
"I am happy to hear that" answers anything happy.
A human being could just cringe, or change topic, or modulate their emotional response throughout the conversation. It is entirely possible that a human character would try to place some distance after hearing five consecutive disgraces that occurred to the other person. A chatbot may remain in their static emotion, repeating the same type of response, or cycling through a predefined "optimal" set of answers. It does not have to feel clumsy, just eerily detached.
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