From Eliza to A.L.I.C.E.

The story of Joseph Weizenbaum is in many ways almost as interesting as that of Turing. An early pioneer in computer science, Weizenbaum was one of the fortunate few to join the embryonic MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab in the early 1960s. His most celebrated accomplishment was the development of ELIZA, a program so entertaining that it still attracts clients to its web site today. ELIZA is based on very simple pattern recognition, based on a stimulus-response model.

1. Artificial Intelligence - Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence demonstrated by machines, as opposed to the natural intelligence displayed by animals and humans.