60-Year-Old Chatbot ELIZA Revived

News Desk

While chatbots like ChatGPT dominate the tech landscape today, few would believe that chatbots existed nearly six decades ago. Yet, according to computer history, the world’s first chatbot, ELIZA, was created in the 1960s.

Developed by Joseph Weizenbaum, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), ELIZA was a conversational program designed to mimic interactions with a psychologist or psychotherapist. Though primitive compared to modern AI chatbots, ELIZA’s conversational style still captivates researchers.

After years of being lost, ELIZA’s computer code was rediscovered in 2021 by Stanford scientist Jeff Shrager and MIT archive specialist Miles Crowley. Written in the outdated MAD-SLIP programming language, the 420-line code had been inactive for six decades. It took researchers several years to restore the program, with ELIZA finally revived in December 2024.

During restoration, scientists identified a bug in the code. While maintaining historical integrity was a priority, they opted to fix the bug to make the program functional.

Researcher David Berry noted that while modern language models far surpass ELIZA, its unique conversational approach set it apart. Programmed to listen and prompt users, ELIZA stands as a testament to early AI innovation and technological progress of its era.