ELIZA- your virtual companion

I went for a Semantic Technology workshop yesterday.

Well if you are wondering what Artificial Intelligence technology gotta do with a non IT person like me, frankly, that's the same question that i'm wondering myself. Another equally mind boggling question is how on earth i've became the project manager for a semantic based medical informatic project? Anyway, the fact is i am managing a digital human knowledge base project at the moment which requires me to have not just basic, but advanced understanding on A.I. or machine learning or inferences tool (whatever you want to call it) knowledge.

Which was really a pain. As my mind has been molded only to fit for sciences for the past 8 years in my life and its such a pain to take up another alien subject and master in it in like 1-2 weeks time.

So back to my topic- the famous Eliza. i was introduced by the speaker, Dr Wu (whom i've already knew even before this workshop) to this person called Eliza. I think all IT student knew her to some extent. Its like Watson and Crick to science student, anyway you get what i mean. Well, since i'm from science background, so i'm clueless about this person when Dr Wu said that she is the hottest girl in the famous birth place of various technology-MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). In my mind i was relating to someone with the boobs and hips like Megan fox and brain like Einstein.

And it turns out she is not beautiful at all, absolutely no sexy curve (she looks boxy or square-ish actually), but all the tech geeks who attended MIT loves her to the core.

+
Megan Fox plus Albert Einstein



= ELIZA

She is virtual. Eliza is a the most famous and probably the oldest Artifical intelligence programme ever. An intelligence chatbox programme (the first chatterbox) which was started as a concept called simulated online chatting. It was created in the early 1960's by MIT scientists Joseph Weizenbaum as a spoof of conversation between a psychoanalysts and a patient.

When it first launched, the whole MIT was turned upside down as people were curious who was this understanding, intelligent lady called Eliza behind the chatbox. Dr. Weizenbaum was both amazed and embarrassed that it received so much attention. Imagine a computer who can chat like human.

For example
Human: My boyfriend made me come here.
ELIZA: Your boyfriend made you come here.
Human: He says I'm depressed much of the time.
ELIZA: I am sorry to hear you are depressed.
Human: It's true. I am unhappy.
ELIZA: Do you think coming here will help you not to be unhappy?

No wonder the tech geeks went head over 'shoes'.

In fact, people already combine the pattern matching technology (the technology which empowering Eliza) with audio recording, human facial expression for online interviews application.

Anyway, for the past few days i was stuck in awe by this alien technology called computer. Its a world which i'm not familiar with, but is equally exciting as science. Imagine the humanoids in terminator series, seriously, it is really possible.

Ok, now it doesnt sound so exciting anymore, its kinda scary.