Weizenbaum

Joseph Weizenbaum (January 1923 – March 5, 2008) was a German-born American computer scientist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is best known for developing ELIZA, one of the first programs capable of natural language processing. Created in 1964, ELIZA simulated a Rogerian psychotherapist by using pattern matching and scripted responses, illustrating how a non-embodied program could appear to understand language.

Weizenbaum grew skeptical of artificial intelligence and the broader social impact of computing. In his 1976 book Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment to Calculation, he argued that computational power does not confer understanding or ethical judgment, and cautioned against allowing machines to replace human decision-making in important matters. He advocated human-centered computing and emphasized responsibility, transparency, and oversight in technology development.

His work contributed to ongoing debates about AI ethics and the limits of machine understanding. The Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society in Berlin is named in his honor. Weizenbaum remained at MIT for many years and continued to publish and lecture on technology's social implications until his death in 2008.