Researcher builds machines that daydream

schliz writes: Murdoch University professor Graham Mann is developing algorithms to simulate "free thinking" and emotion. He refutes the emotionless reason portrayed by Mr Spock, arguing that "an intelligent system must have emotions built into it before it can function". The algorithm can translate the "feel" of Aesop's Fables based on Plutchick's Wheel of Emotions. In tests, it freely associated three stories: The Thirsty Pigeon; The Cat and the Cock; and The Wolf and the Crane, and when queried on the association, the machine responded: "I felt sad for the bird."