ELIZA

ELIZA is a 1966 developed by Joseph Weizenbaum computer program that should demonstrate the possibilities of communication between a human and a computer using natural language.

The name ELIZA chose Weizenbaum based on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. The program can simulate various interlocutors about so-called scripts. Became known, it is for the superficial simulation of a psychotherapist who uses the non-directive methods of client-centered psychotherapy of Carl Rogers.

Weizenbaum wrote the program in MAD- SLIP for an IBM 7094, which used the time-sharing system CTSS at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

ELIZA can be seen as an early implementation of the so-called Turing test. This would have not existed since a user can quite easily find out that it is communicating with a machine.

Operation

ELIZA works on the principle to reformulate statements of the human interlocutor in question and so to simulate a response to the statement.

Moreover, it is able to identify keywords (such father) and to react, for example,

In this case, the program has a predetermined mapping father to family implemented and, by a suitable reply. This simple function shows the limitation of the program that understands the user in any way. So the key word principle leads to the following apparent " dialogue ":

This assignment father family comes from a thesaurus in the simplest case. In more complex and powerful advancements, the place of the thesaurus, an ontology may occur.

Reactions

The choice of psychotherapists as simulated interlocutor reasoned Weizenbaum with the fact that it is such a conversation partner allowed to have to show no knowledge of the world, without loss of credibility is lost. In his article Weizenbaum illustrates this with an example: If the human interlocutor the sentence " I went with the boat " expresses and the computer responds "Tell me something about boats," a man is not to assume that his interlocutor no knowledge has about boats.

The communication behavior of subjects with respect to the program was similar to that against a human interlocutor. Apparently they were not too important whether the respondent at the other end of the line really was a human or a computer program. It was only the fact that the answers and questions " human" appeared. This is the so-called Eliza effect, which is now used in many Chatterbots.

The subjects in the experiments were to a large extent even convinced that the " interlocutor " a real understanding of their problems muster. Even if they were confronted with the fact that the computer program, with which they had "spoken", based on some simple rules and certainly no "intelligence ", " mind ", " empathy ", etc. simply given statements on issues transformed, they often refused to accept it.

Weizenbaum was shocked by the reaction to his program, especially that practicing psychiatrists seriously believed in it, this will allow them to access an automated form of psychotherapy. He developed not least because of these experiences into a social critic. This development Weizenbaum is subject of a documentary titled Plug & Pray, which was released in 2010.

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