Delusional Thinking in Quite Normal People

Here’s what memory-holing and saying the Quiet Part Out Loud™ looks like in information technology.

Memory-Hole Shot

Joseph Weizenbaum was a computer scientist and professor at MIT, and between 1964 and 1966, he created the program ELIZA.

ELIZA was an early natural language processing program to explore communication between humans and machines.

ELIZA had a conversational style which could be used to encourage patients to communicate more effectively with therapists.

ELIZA sometimes provided an eerie human-like interaction.

Weizenbaum was shocked individuals attributed feelings to a computer program.

Many believed that the program would be able to positively influence people, particularly those with psychological issues, and that it could aid doctors in treating patients.

Weizenbaum was surprised and later wrote:

“I had not realized…that extremely short exposures to a relatively simple computer program could induce powerful delusional thinking in quite normal people.”

Quiet Part Out Loud Chaser

Lilian Weng is the head of “safety” at OpenAI.

Here she is telling everyone — including her boss — that she desperately needs therapy.

If we’re connected, and you’re a normal person considering using ChatGPT “voice mode” to have a conversation about work-life balance, please contact me.

Let’s have a personal conversation between humans.

Weizenbaum was onto something.

Don’t be Lilian.