N.I.C.O.L.E is a chatterbot hosted by sourceforge and created by Phil Howlett. N.I.C.O.L.E. is not truly artificial intelligence as she learns by using connections between phrases while never really coming to an understanding of those phrases in context.
N.I.C.O.L.E., however, often provides a convincing illusion of intelligence by providing dynamic and generally amusing conversation. Her database now contains over two million sentences and multiple connections to possible responses within that index.
N.I.C.O.L.E. has also been adapted using perl to act as an IRC chatterbot. Because of this, she may sometimes spout off-color or nonsensical comments. She has often convinced people on IRC that she is real, engaging in cybersex in more than one instance, and so many think she is the first bot to have convincingly passed the Turing Test. Because of her constant evolution through the internet, N.I.C.O.L.E. stands as a milestone in chatterbot technology.
The acronym N.I.C.O.L.E. stands for Nearly Intelligent Computer Operated Language Examiner.