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Chatbot::Eliza

By John Nolan, September 04, 2001

Of all the chatterbots - programs that converse with humans - Eliza is the most famous. The original Eliza was written by Professor Joseph Weizenbaum of MIT in 1967. Eliza pretends to be a Rogerian psychiatrist; whatever the human says, it replies - usually with a question - in an attempt to encourage the patient to elaborate.

Listing 1.

A sample Chatbot::Eliza session

John Nolan

Chatbot::Eliza

The Perl Journal, Spring 1998

 

Listing 1: A sample Chatbot::Eliza session 


Eliza: Please tell me what's been bothering you.



you: <i>Well, it's my boss.</i> 

Eliza: Your boss? 



you: <i>Yes. He's not very friendly.</i> 

Eliza: I see. 



you: <i>He is always upset.</i> 

Eliza: When? 



you: <i>Always. Especially when things are hectic.</i>

Eliza: Can you think of a specific example? 



you: <i>Well, yesterday he said he was unhappy with all of us.</i>

Eliza: That is interesting. Please continue. 



you: <i>He says I am too lazy.</i> 

Eliza: Is it because you are too lazy that you came to me? 



you: <i>I'm not lazy.</i> 

Eliza: Do you believe it is normal to be not lazy?



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