4 minute read
Beyond the Script: What makes a conversation human
Have you heard about the potato test? If you’re not online dating, you might not be familiar with it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth knowing about. The potato test gained popularity on Tinder out of necessity. It serves as a human CAPTCHA to deploy if their online match seems suspiciously perfect or otherwise unreal.
This test emerged because chatbots on Tinder are a real problem. It turns out that there are a large number of gorgeous women online who are just a beautiful amalgamation of 1s and 0s. In the Potato test, you ask the person you’re speaking to to say ‘potato’ if they’re human. And if they do not respond with the word, well, you can guess then, that they are not.
Even if you’re not on Tinder, you might be surprised by how often you encounter chatbots in today’s world. While many people are familiar with AI software like ChatGPT, chatbots are also prevalent in various industries, including customer service, sales, banking, gaming, insurance, and many others.
Chatbots are powered by large language models (LLMs) trained on vast amounts of text. When you ask a chatbot a question, it pulls from this text to build a response, meaning it doesn’t understand what it's saying, only that this series of words makes sense based on its dataset. There are ways, other than the potato test, to determine if you’re interacting with a chatbot.
One way to identify a chatbot is by its availability. Unlike humans, bots are always available to chat—morning, noon, and night. If the "person" you're messaging always seems ready to talk, no matter the day or time, that's a red flag. Another sign you’re chatting to a bot is errors. Modern chatbots don't make spelling or grammar mistakes: They just aren't trained to. Or you could also use a crazy Ivan test, shaking things up and seeing what kind of response you get. If for example, you were to switch to a different language, a real person would be confused, and a bot would keep going and probably switch too.
As we grapple with determining whether we're talking to another human on the other end of the line, it raises a fundamental question: What makes a conversation truly human?
If the "person" you're messaging always seems ready to talk, no matter the day or time, that's a red flag.
Conversation is a profound part of the human experience. Studies have shown that having at least one meaningful human interaction each day can boost our happiness and reduce stress levels. Unlike interactions with chatbots, human conversation tends to be fluid—topics are introduced, dropped, and then picked up again later.
In 1997, a watershed moment occurred when the Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov faced off against IBM’s Deep Blue. This event marked the dawn of a new era in artificial intelligence, showcasing a machine's ability to defeat the reigning human champion in such a cerebral game. While much has been written about this game and its aftermath, an intriguing aspect touches on the nature of human conversation.
In chess, there’s a concept called “playing in book,” where players follow a known sequence of moves for optimal success. Initially, high-level chess games proceed “in book,” with players anticipating each move until the game becomes complex enough to require improvisation. Kasparov contends that he didn’t lose to Deep Blue because the game was still within the “book” when he made his mistake, meaning he never truly confronted the computer’s strategic depth.
Similarly, genuine human interaction also only happens when we move past the scripted pleasantries. While we often start conversations with surface-level topics like the weather or work, truly engaging with another person’s humanity involves sharing our deeper thoughts, our unique views, our pains and our perspectives.
When you’re next engaging in a conversation, whether online or in person, remember that being human involves complexity, contradictions, and mystery. It is about experiencing life in all its potential. Conversations are at the heart of our humanity, and they come alive when we embrace the full spectrum of possibilities that come with human interactions.
