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No AI in humour: R2-D2 walks into a bar, doesn't get the joke

FILE - In this Monday, June 18, 2018 file photo, Dr. Noam Slonim, principal investigator, stands with the IBM Project Debater before a debate between the computer and two humans in San Francisco. Slonim put humor into the programming, figuring that a one-liner every now could help in a debate. But in initial internal tests, it backfired when the system gave a humorous remark at an inappropriate time and way. "We know that humor _ at least good humor _ relies on nuance and on timing," Slonim said. "And these are very hard to decipher by an automatic system." (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

WASHINGTON — Alexa and Siri can tell jokes mined from a humour database, but they just don’t get them.

Linguists and computer scientists say that’s something to consider on April Fools’ Day: Humor is what makes humans special. When experts try to teach machines what’s funny, the results are at times laughable but not quite in the way intended.

Humour is all about context, life experiences and timing — stuff that is not easy for computers.

But computer scientist and stand-up comic Allison Bishop says the good news is that it gives comedians job security.

Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press