ELIZA effect
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Staying Grounded in the Age of the ELIZA Effect
As machines become more fluent, it becomes easier to mistake conversation for consciousness. This tendency—known as the ELIZA effect—is natural, but it doesn’t have to control us. The first step to staying grounded is remembering what AI is: a tool that generates responses based on patterns, not a mind with thoughts or feelings. Fluency can Continue reading
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The ELIZA Effect: Why Machines Can Feel Human
In the 1960s, a simple computer program named ELIZA surprised researchers. It followed basic conversational rules, yet many users felt it understood them. Some even formed emotional connections. This reaction came to be known as the ELIZA effect—our tendency to attribute understanding, intention, or consciousness to systems that merely simulate conversation. The ELIZA effect exists Continue reading
