Don,

I am neither talking about self-reflection nor self-awareness but rather of the experience gained in attempting to develop an intelligent system.

To do otherwise than my suggestion would break what I empirically perceive to be the golden rule of programming.

That rule is ... where possible always cater for the general case and not the specific case for as surely as God created little green apples similar cases will occur.

eg Name a fruit that is the colour of a sunset!

Unless the system has the ability speak to itself and so ask itself “What colour is a sunset?” you have serious problems to repeatedly contend with.

Simplex has been designed so that is can hold a simple conversation with itself and so do this. Astonishingly, to date I know of no other system which can. This is one of the reasons for joining this forum so that its members might enlighten me.

Jim.

Sorry, I don’t get it because you seem to be mixing up several different abilities. If you want to know if there are AI that can learn from experience or something like that, you’d best ask your question in clear and simple terms in the topic you made. Then maybe I could answer.

Dave, very good. That’s closely the description I had in mind for “the normal”. Their unfamiliarity with the deeper subject matter and down-to-earth perspective make them as invaluable as Watson to Sherlock Holmes. It’s a shame they don’t usually stay longer than it takes to answer their initial questions, but perhaps that is inevitable to their nature. I would add “Don’t spook” to the recommended actions

The Botmaster.
Has/had a functioning chat bot of some sort.  Has a predilection for (and more or less expertise on)  whatever platform their bot runs/ran on simply due to time already vested.  Has general knowledge in chat, but true expertise lies elsewhere. Subcategories pair with either programming or non programming background. Good person to ground wayward threads back to the “real” (virtual) world when conversation and thread topic part ways. 
Best action: Treat with respect and they will usually respond in kind, but may be temperamental and seem over protective when talking of their own “creation”/product/app.

The Overworked Enthusiast
Usually knows lots about computers in general and AI in particular.
Knows about the current capabilities and limits of AI, and doesn’t expect too much from the near future.
Knows very well that making a working bot is far more labor than one might think at a first glimpse.
Would give a lot to become a botmaster but doesn’t have the courage. Usually says he/she doesn’t have the time / energy / whatever.
Often talks to bots for hours in a row. Doesn’t have a so-called “real life”.

Best action:
If you are a botmaster, mine transcripts for valuable ideas on improvement of your bot.
Don’t tell him/her directly to get a life, but ask for examples of the real world that might be profitable for AI development.
Discuss AI subjects, especially where they touch his/her fields of expertise.
If you are a botmaster and/or owner/administrator of a botmaking platform, tell him/her that you chose your platform because its simplicity and yet vast opportunities to refine a bot.
Discuss the meaning of taking everything with sand of a grain.