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LOGO ELIZA
by
David Malmberg
PowerPlay Magazine
Feb/March 1986
Page 60
David Malmberg's ELIZA is the LOGO
version of one of the most
controversial computer programs ever
written. Now, controversial is
usually not a word used to desribe a
computer program. But during the
mid-sixties, when Joseph Weizenbaum
of MIT unveiled ELIZA, emotions ran
high.
For its creator, ELIZA was a
demonstration of "natural language
processing"--- having the computer
input and output information in our
language rather than the computer's.
To show ELIZA's ability to process
responses made in English, Weizenbaum
had it simulate a psychotherapist's
responses during a session with a
patient (the user). The program
seemed to understand the content of
the user's responses and answer with
appropriate, even insightful,
comments and questions.
Of course, ELIZA was generating its
responses by searching for key
phrases in the user's replies, then
using the the same phrase in its own
response. The actual sentence using
the key phrase was picked at random
from a list of responses possible for
that particular phrase.
ELIZA was a talented mimic that
convinced many users of its empathy
and intelligence. That's when the
problems started--- people using
ELIZA soon forgot they were
conversing with a machine, sometimes
responding to it as they would an
understanding therapist.
ELIZA's ability to provoke these
emotions in its users created a furor
in psychoanalytic circles. The
majority of analysts feared that the
program would be used improperly;
others hailed it as a major
breakthrough.
As with most controversies, the
storm surrounding ELIZA disipated
when neither the worst fears nor the
brightest hopes were realized. Today,
ELIZA is viewed as it was originally
intended--- as an entertaining game
that shows the computer's ability to
process human language.
David Malmberg's LOGO version of
ELIZA remains faithful to the
original psychotherapy simulation---
most of the key phrases deal with
emotions and the people (mother,
father, etc.) that stimulate them.
However, by changing key phrases in
its vocabulary, ELIZA can change
personalities as you alter the focus
of its interests and the tone of its
responses.
Please note that ELIZA is written
in LOGO language; therefore, it
cannot be run from LOADSTAR. Thus
you must have the LOGO language
already installed in your computer to
run ELIZA.
FILES USED: Eliza.Logo
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