The Language Acquisition Device is a computer program developed by Lobal Technologies, a computer company in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, and scientists from King's College

King's College London

King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...

. It emulates the functions of the brain's frontal lobes where humans process language

Language

Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...

 and emotion

Emotion

Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...

.

Scientists hope this might enable computers to understand, speak, learn, and eventually think. One possible use is in interactive entertainment such as video gaming, where the technology is used to help computer-controlled characters to develop. A press release describing this technology produced widespread media interest in 2002, but no reports have been published since then, and the current status of the technology is unclear.