The article “From Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment to Calculation” (1976) by Joseph Weizenbaum discussed the events surrounding the author’s computer program named Eliza that analyzed language and carried tailored conversation with its user. He used the example of Eliza playing the role of a doctor to show how widespread and well-known his program had become, and subsequently, how blown out of proportion his creation became. He cited three events (370): that psychiatrists believing that his doctor-program would work as an automatic form of psychotherapy despite a computer not having real-life experiences to connect with the patient, that conversations with the computer would be taken as privately as with humans, and that the Eliza program served as a key solution to human language understanding by a computer.
Weizenbaum saw the importance of context in understanding human language, but he was shocked by the reaction that the Eliza program garnered, and it showed him new perspectives on his technology that gave him reason to compare computers and society to dilemmas in life. He believed that computers should have limits to what they are capable of, while others share the notion that computers should be able to do everything a human does, including process human-like thoughts. I can see artificial intelligence advancing enough with accessibility products and recent introductions like Siri on Apple’s iPhone 4S that computers, no matter in what form, will eventually be capable of matching a human’s level of thought for everything from productivity to emotional connections. I find the technology field to be a really fast-changing and innovative industry, and engineering holds the kind of finds like Weizenbaum’s program—where small, seemingly minor applications or services become morphed into a large-scale, potentially groundbreaking endeavor (or precursor to discussions and future technology advancements) that moves the link between computer and man forward.
Your main ideas for the article by Joseph Weizenbaum were similar to the main ideas I has put on my blog. I believe that Weizenbaum was hoping to understand how the program called Eliza could compare to a real life doctor. I like how much detail you put supporting your main ideas from the article itself. I don’t usually show support for what my main idea is so you create a strong argument for what your main ideas are. I like that you introduced the the Sirii technology on your blog. That is probably the closet we can get to a program like Eliza on a consumer level.
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