Spanish researchers have created
Negobot, an artificial intelligence software to mimic the traits of teenagers. The idea is to use Negobot to pose as an underage chatroom user to communicate with others and potentially spot paedophiles.
The concept consists of Negobot starting off in a neutral state. Depending on the intensity of the interactions, Negobot will adopt one of the seven pre-programmed personalities. Dr Carlos Laorden, at the University of Deusto,
states:
In the past "chatbots" have tended to be very predictable. Their behaviour and interest in a conversation are flat, which is a problem when attempting to detect untrustworthy targets like paedophiles.
As a result, Negobot contrasts by employing the '
game theory' to meticulously extract vital identification nuggets from a suspected abuser. The explanation of game theory can be found on the
UCLA webpage.
The potential usage are endless, but experts say it can help overburdened police catch cyber-criminals at the cost of trapping people unfairly.
More specifically, Negobot has employed child-like behaviors including the usage of slang, short hand, spelling mistakes, as well as incorrect grammatical sentences to throw off suspicion.
To date, this software has been tested on Google's
chat service and improvements aim to allow for the translation to other languages as well. Furthermore, it has already attracted the attention of the Basque police force.
