When the Eliza psychotherapist chatbot was released by Joseph Weizenbaum, in 1966, people believed it real. Even the secretary of its creator thought the machine had feelings, as they discussed relationships and personal issues. But why? How could a simple computer text interface act so human?
In this session our speaker, a computer historian and associate at the Centre for Computer History, uncovers the workings of Eliza, the Eliza effect, and its impact in the modern world and films like "THX 1138" and "Her." From the computer hardware to the programming language, and the scripts used to simulate the human traits of empathy and comprehension, we look at how 233 lines of code was convincing enough to change the world... and then how that code was transmogrified into JavaScript so that anyone can read and understand it.