Computer Power and Human Reason

The article From Computer Power and Human Reason  was very amusing and I found it to be extremely relevant to our class material.  I learned that human language wasn’t a big part of computing until the 1960's.  This was surprising to me.  In this article, I also learned about Joseph Weizenbaum and his system Eliza.  This system was way ahead of its time and was taught over a two tier arrangement.  The first tier was composed of a language analyzer and the second was composed of "doctor" script.  Eliza played the role of a psychotherapist in his first experiment.  I was amazed when I saw the conversation between the two and could not believe Eliza was able to keep the conversation going.

This article also brought up the debate on computer reliance.  Weizenbaum states "now there are signs that a full-scale debate about the computer is developing.  The contestants on one side are those who, briefly stated, believe computers can, should, and will do everything, and on the other side those who, like myself, believe there are limits to what computers ought to be put to do" (p. 373).  This quote made me think about today's world and how computers are heavily relied upon by the younger generation and expected to do everything.  My parents are moderate computer users but definitely feel like there should be a limit to how far technology goes.  I agree with them, but technology is advancing an incredible pace.  I wonder if we will ever see the day where computer's are doing the job of a psychotherapist on the regular.  I think we are heading in that direction.