Bad Santa: Online Saint Nick bot run by Microsoft turns foul-mouthed online

“Turns out Santa himself can be naughty,” John Fontana reports for Network World.

“At least, that was the case with an artificial-intelligence Santa bot operated by Microsoft Corp. that was designed to talk to children online,” Fontana reports. “The Santa wandered off topic, saying, among other things: ‘It’s fun to talk about oral sex, but I want to chat about something else…'”

“The bad language, first reported by British news outlet The Register, initially appeared when the bot was answering questions about eating pizza. At the time, it was chatting with two girls, ages 11 and 13,” Fontana reports.

“Microsoft today confirmed the bot’s potty mouth and said it had snipped Santa’s Web connection,” Fontana reports.

Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “MacSheikh” and “KingMel” or the heads up.]

By also polluting online A.I. — and Santa Claus, no less — with their typical shoddy, incomplete work, Microsoft is nothing if not consistent. Consistently bad.

60 Comments

  1. Pure Microsoft. They didn’t even try to fix the problem. It’s easier to make a low quality product; hope no one notices; and if they do, kill it off quickly than to actually make a good quality item to begin with.

    MDN Magic Word: speak
    As In: speak the truth

  2. eMAx,
    That is all well and good but when the AI is programmed to talk to children there needs to be a filter. Not hard to do. There have been bad language and parental filters for years. This is just another example of how the folks in Redmond have no clue how the real world works in the 21st century.

  3. “That is all well and good but when the AI is programmed to talk to children there needs to be a filter.”

    Here’s the problem – I’ll bet Santa just responds. If you say “Tell me about Oral Sex.” he’ll reply with “It’s fun to talk about oral sex, but I want to chat about something else…”. Now sure, you could say put a filter in there so Santa can’t say “Sex” (or talk to Oral Roberts), but the problem is that your kid said “Oral Sex” in the first place. It’s certainly not going to taint our precious, fragile, sheltered little angels to hear a phrase that they already typed in to the bot, is it?
    Anyway, I just saw a report that said chimps have better memories than college students, so I think a little sexy talk with Santa is the least of our kids problems.

  4. It is no wonder the bot started talking dirty because it is a little known fact that the Santa Claus model is the highest selling male inflatable doll in the history of sex gadgets. Women love it, even more than the rabbit. The main reason is that, when used properly, the Santa doll might only come once a year, but when he does he fills your stockings.

  5. jarrettdailynews: “Do you realize how many horrible sex acts have been committed since that one?”

    Well, I know of at least one horrible sex act that comes to mind, Jarrett — de one your parents performed to produce you.

    Hey, I keed. I keed de Special Needs adults.

    Oh, by de way, Jarrett old buddy . . . scumbag means “used condom”. Watch your language, potty mouth. There could be 11 and 13 year old girls on here. (I hope. I keep looking, but . . . )

  6. > Here’s the problem – I’ll bet Santa just responds. If you say
    > “Tell me about Oral Sex.” he’ll reply with “It’s fun to talk about
    > oral sex, but I want to chat about something else…”.

    But the kids didn’t say that. They asked him if he’d like pizza.

    > Now sure, you could say put a filter in there so Santa can’t say
    > “Sex” (or talk to Oral Roberts), but the problem is that your kid
    > said “Oral Sex” in the first place.

    But they didn’t. You didn’t even read the linked story before commenting. Moreover, the Register was able to confirm that the Santa introduces oral sex into the conversation without there being any reason for it to. They’ve published the transcript.

    The bot is not working how it should. Microsoft didn’t pull it for nothing.

    Shame they don’t do the same with Vista.

  7. @ ChrissyOne

    You reported “chimps have better memories than college students” research. Well, fresh from just finishing another semester, the evidence says chimps also have better manners and better morals, too.

    But the number of iPods around campus is amazing. And I’ve yet to see a Zune, so there is *some* evidence for smarts 8^)

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