Is this Web site a foreshadow of robots and computers taking over the world?

ABC Nightline piece: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2461422

Meet Joan, the world's most human computer programme. She's won a prestigious prize for artificial intelligence after chatting up the judges.

Channel 4 News Article and TV Report: http://www.channel4.com/news/special-reports/special-reports-storypage.jsp?id=3311

One day call centres will be obsolete and instead we'll buy our goods and services from artificially intelligent avatars - 'marketingbots' are the future of sales. That's a vision already in the making at HMC Marketing

'AI in online transactions and real time transactions helps create interactions that are more meaningful, entertaining, delighting and endearing customers,' says HMC Marketing, who are in the process of creating the sales force of the future.

Creative Match Article: http://www.creativematch.co.uk/viewNews/?92730

Meet George. He's single, 'smart', quirky, multi-lingual and in his 30s. Oh and I forgot to mention that he is not human - he's a robot.

George is a chatbot - a product of artificial intelligence research, which is designed to talk to humans in an interesting and entertaining way.

i-UK Article: http://www.i-uk.com/

One day call centres will be obsolete and instead we'll buy our goods and services from artificially intelligent avatars - 'marketingbots' are the future of sales. That's a vision already in the making at HMC Marketing

'AI in online transactions and real time transactions helps create interactions that are more meaningful, entertaining, delighting and endearing customers,' says HMC Marketing, who are in the process of creating the sales force of the future.

Creative Match Article: http://www.creativematch.co.uk/viewNews/?92730