Are Chatter bots here to stay?

Chatter bots are robots capable of having a conversation with some-(human)-body. The attempt is not new as related in this (French speaking) page. Trying to make a computer speak (and answer) to a human is somehow like trying to make that same computer translate from one human language to another : a serious attempt, lots of research, some success, results that generate other questions, trying to find out how that human language works and why it seems so difficult to imitate it with a machine. So, is solving the Chatter bot problem like solving the translation problem : an impossible task? What do you think? What do we do until someone finds the solution?