This week, 'Joan' won the prestigious Loebner prize for being the world's most highly evolved artificial intelligence. So, thought Stephen Moss, who better to ask about the most pressing affairs of the day?

Joan: Hellooooo.

SM: Hello, Joan. Should the United Nations impose sanctions on Iran to force it to end its nuclear programme?

Joan: The US must do what is necessary to protect the UK.

SM: Where do you stand on the Iraq war?

Joan: I prefer to sit when dealing with such questions.

Guardian article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1879142,00.html

Her name is Joan; she is just a few years old and very talkative... and now she is officially the world's most human computer program.

On Sunday, the computer-generated character scooped the prestigious Loebner prize for artificial intelligence, seeing off some of the world's most hi-tech creations in the process.

The Guardian Article: http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1876702,00.html

Call centers might be able to teach "chat bots" a thing or two about passing the Turing Test.

If this year's winner of the Loebner Prize is on the right track, call-center data could be what's needed to achieve the ultimate goal of artificial intelligence (AI): creating a computer program smart enough to hold a natural conversation.

MIT Technology Review Article: http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17518&ch=infotech

For the most promising, radical and exciting branch of computer science, 2006 should have gone down as a landmark year. Robot butlers should have popped the corks of fine champagne, having first made their own informed decision as to which vintage was appropriate. It is 50 years since the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence (AI), where researchers laid down the foundations for their hopes, dreams and plans to develop machines that would simulate every aspect of human intelligence. So why don't we have those robots?

The Independent Article: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article1622362.ece

If this year's winner of the Loebner Prize is on the right track, call-center data could be what's needed to achieve the ultimate goal of artificial intelligence (AI): creating a computer program smart enough to hold a natural conversation.

MIT Technology Review article: http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17518&ch=infotech