We may think it a recent phenomenon but as Toby Walsh’s engaging new history guide shows, the first chatbot has been around for half a century
Joseph Weizenbaum created the ‘Eliza’ chatbot 50 years ago. Photo: Joachim Schulz via Getty Images
In 1966, professor Joseph Weizenbaum created a chatbot called Eliza. His intentions were noble, but the results shocked him.
Eliza was a computerised ‘psychotherapist’ that its creator believed would “demonstrate the superficiality of much of the communication between humans,” writes Toby Walsh, a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, in his book The Shortest History of AI. Weizenbaum was stunned to discover that when people interacted with Eliza, they behaved as though she was human. Her way of conversing with them – asking questions based on their statements – made them feel like she was really listening.
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