RE: https://graphics.social/@metin/117563239359231531
I used to play with Eliza in the ‘80s and try to get it to say bad words. Is it really that unusual to be able to maintain the understanding of something as software?
Nov 5, 2026, 1:00 PM@wendynather you can put googly eyes on a tin can and people will forget it isn't alive
@wendynather I deliver modules that include Eliza as part of KS3/4 classroom exercises, and one of the things I found in the literature is that a lot of the people who enjoyed spilling their heart out to Eliza on the teleprinter were mostly fond of the way in which it kept turning the conversation back to their stories and feelings. These tended to be people who didn't feel that anyone else was listening to them, but Eliza always remembered things they'd said before, and prompted them for more.
For a large segment of technical society (mainly women in the workforce, who were the ones doing most of the typing back then), this was a liberating feeling.
I strongly suspect the "THEY WERE DUPED" narrative oversells their credulity about the interactions.
WHY DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU USED TO PLAY WITH ELIZA IN THE ‘80S?
Nov 5, 2026, 6:04 PM@20002ist @wendynather Hahaha, yeah, I used to run a version of Eliza on my Amiga 1000 in the mid-1980s. As the Amiga came with a speech synthesis library, you could activate Eliza's "voice" as well, which made her even more "human".
It didn't take long to realize "she" didn't "understand" anything, but kept asking questions surrounding the subject of your input. I guess many people desperately want to believe certain things, otherwise religion and superstition wouldn't be so wide-spread.