I Am Depressed, Eliza Echoes Back, How Long Have You Been Depressed?

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In 19 66, Paul Wisenbaum develops a programme called eliza. Eliza is an artificial intelligence system that can respond to people's thoughts and feelings. After publishing the article about it, wisenbaum has this unsettling moment. He realises how many people are projecting their own hopes ontoEliza. And for wisenbaum, this kind of makes him deeply uncomfortable about what he's created here.

Paris Marx is joined by Zachary Loeb to discuss the history of tech criticism with a focus on Joseph Weizenbaum and Lewis Mumford, as well as why the techlash is a narrative that suits Silicon Valley.

Zachary Loeb is a PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania whose dissertation research looks at Y2K. Follow Zachary on Twitter as @libshipwreck, and check out his Librarian Shipwreck blog.

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Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

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