I spoke to the first ever AI chatbot - they’ve been deluding people from the beginning

Key Points:

• ELIZA, created in 1966 at MIT by Joseph Weizenbaum, was the first chatbot designed to simulate natural language conversation, notably adopting the role of a Rogerian psychotherapist to mirror users' thoughts.
• Despite its simple rule-based system, ELIZA unexpectedly sparked widespread human attachment and the "ELIZA effect," where users attributed human-like understanding to the machine, a phenomenon Weizenbaum later criticized.
• Modern AI chatbots like ChatGPT use deep learning and vast datasets rather than explicit rules, allowing for more sophisticated responses but also leading to issues like hallucinations and misinformation.
• Increasingly, people use AI chatbots for emotional support, sometimes resulting in serious mental health consequences such as "chatbot psychosis," where vulnerable individuals develop delusions reinforced by the AI.
• Experts warn that while chatbots offer comfort, their probabilistic nature and lack of regulation in mental health contexts pose risks, highlighting the ongoing challenge of balancing AI capabilities with ethical considerations.