ELIZA Resurrected: World’s First Chatbot Revived After 60 Years

Eliza, a chatbot developed in the 1960s and recognized as the world’s first chatbot, has been revived using long-lost computer code found in archival records. Originally created by MIT professor Joseph Weizenbaum, ELIZA was designed as a conversational program capable of mimicking a psychiatrist’s conversation. This project, conducted by researchers and archivists, is a milestone in understanding early artificial intelligence and its impact on modern technology. Despite its simplicity compared to today’s AI, ELIZA’s ability to communicate remains impressive.

reconstruction of the code

According to a paper posted on the preprint server arXiv, the chatbot’s code was exposed in 2021 by Jeff Schrager, a cognitive scientist at Stanford University, and Miles Crowley, an MIT archivist. Written in a now obsolete programming language called MAD-SLIP, the original 420-line code was not operational for six decades. The research team spent years creating a computer emulator capable of debugging and running the software. ELIZA functionality was successfully restored on December 21, 2024.

preservation of historical authenticity

As informed By Live Science, researchers encountered a bug in the code, but decided not to fix it, citing the need to preserve its historical integrity. Schrager explained to Live Science that making changes to the program would compromise its authenticity, comparing it to modifying an iconic artwork. This decision highlights the importance of maintaining the features of the original program, even at the expense of usability.

Impact and legacy

Experts stressed the importance of ELIZA in shaping the development of artificial intelligence. David Berry, professor of digital humanities at the University of Sussex, said that although modern language models surpass ELIZA in capability, its conversational design remains remarkable. chatbot Users were programmed to listen and prompt, a feature considered more conversationally authentic than many existing AI systems.

The revival of ELIZA draws attention to the need to preserve the history of computer science, as its legacy is considered a cultural artifact reflecting the early days of computational innovation.