ELIZA: the OG chatbot

𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗭𝗔: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗚 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗯𝗼𝘁.

How we think about human-AI interaction was forever changed back in 1966 when Joseph Weizenbaum developed ELIZA.

ELIZA's script was designed to mimic a Rogerian psychotherapist, using Carl Rogers' person-centered approach.

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗥𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀?
He pioneered person-centered therapy, emphasizing:
▪️ Unconditional positive regard - accepting clients without judgment
▪️ Empathetic understanding - truly listening and reflecting feelings
▪️ Genuineness - creating authentic therapeutic relationships

Rogers believed that clients possess an innate capacity for growth and self-healing when provided with the right supportive environment. His approach focused on reflecting back what clients said, helping them explore their own thoughts and feelings; exactly what ELIZA attempted to replicate through simple pattern matching.

𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁-𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱
We have a plethora of chatbots on the market: the newest artificial companions on the block. Unlike ELIZA's simple pattern matching, these leverage advanced language models while maintaining those core Rogerian principles that made the OG so compelling (essentially it acts as a mirror).

So, while advances in AI companions have escalated significantly in the past several years, the technological stage has been set for decades regarding our propensity to anthropomorphize and connect with artificial sources.

👉 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀?