Peter Dittmer's Wet Nurse

Peter Dittmer has been working on his Managing Thing [The Wet Nurse The Wet Nurse 2] since 1994. It is a large, Eliza-like computer that visitors engage in dialogue and try to convince to tip over a glass of milk.

The project seems to be about obsession... the artist's continued development of the project, the computer's attempt at human communication, the visitor's attempt to convince a computer to spill milk.

Here's Medien.Kunst Netz description of the project:

The computer offers six vehicles for the production of language: a program machine, an identification apparatus, an appraisal of the situation, a response apparatus, a store of contradictions and an apparatus for formulating contradictions. The computer's responses, which take the form of text, graphics or sounds, make users feel that they are conducting a conversation with an opposite number who is at once intelligent, sloppy and insulting. If the dialogue reaches a point at which the machine becomes 'excited' a glass of milk is spilled in a glass case. Using recorded conversations, the repertoire of the 'nurse' has been continually expanded since 1992: at present, the program offers approximately 120,000 answer modules and more than 16,000 identification variables.

Here's a Alta Vista translation (corrected by my very limited German) of a conversation with the Wet Nurse:

Amme [Wet Nurse]: The thing is still unsettled.

Human: Do it already.

Amme: What?

Public: Spill the milk!

Amme: This machine is not a spill-machine.

Public: Shit I'm leaving.

Amme: This was a short difficult visit.

Public: I'm going already.

Amme: My warning reads: Draussen ueberfaellt den Mensch nur derene leere Schlund von derene Welt. [? Outside attacks humans only derene empty throat of derene world. ?] ["Outside, man is seized only by the empty throat of the world.", maybe?]

Public: I pray that you are devoured.

Amme: There you should pray for God.

Public: God will devour you.

Amme: Do you want a telephone line to the God?

Public: Stop with God!

Amme: Hello. Here's God. Hitler is on, too.

Public: give me God!!! I do not want Hitler! I want God!

Amme: There. I rather give you milk for that than for a direct request!

[MILK SPILLS]

public: well finally thanks for the milk and bye.

Amme: Aha. You take, don't give, and go.

Public: What do you want to have?

Amme: I want to tear you out of her mind.

Public: you pig.

Amme: HA HA HA HA. Oh I am bad!

If you'd like the natural language processor experience, you can try it out on this web-based Eliza.