Friday, January 16, 2009

ELIZA, le psychotherapista electronic


(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)


Alan Turing proponeva un maniera de determinar si un systema electronic esseva intelligente: Si un persona con un claviero e un scherma habeva un dialogo con alique/alicuno e non poteva determinar si ille o illa parlava con un persona o un computator e si eventualmente on revelava que su interlocutor esseva un computator, il tunc esserea necesse concluder que su programmation esseva intelligente.

Ma Joseph Weizenbaum concludeva que intra limites ben definite il esserea multo facile simular le intelligentia con programmas informatic assatis simple.

Intra le contexto de un session psychotherapeutic inter un patiente e un therapista nondirective como Carl Rogers, Weizenbaum construeva ELIZA, un programma assatis simple in le linguage informatic BASIC.

Su secretaria, qui le habeva observante durante que ille elaborava iste programma, comenciava a haber dialogos con ELIZA. Tosto altere personas voleva discuter lor problemas personal con ELIZA, e eventualmente iste programma deveniva multo popular.

Ecce un exemplo typic de un conversation inter ELIZA e un "patiente":

Patiente: Omne le homines de mi vita ha essite abusive

ELIZA: De que maniera?

Patiente: Ben, mi nove amante me diceva que tu poterea adjuvar me.

ELIZA: Tu nove amante te diceva que io poterea adjuvar te?

Patiente: Ille dice que io es deprimite le major parte quando ille es con me.

ELIZA: Io regretta multo que tu es deprimite.

Patiente: Il es ver que io es infelice.

ELIZA: Esque tu crede que parlar con me te adjuvara a esser minus infelice?

Patiente: Il es obvie que io ha besonio de adjuta.

ELIZA: Qual esserea le significantia de iste adjuta pro te?

Patiente: Forsan io poterea haber relationes plus harmoniose con mi matre.

ELIZA: Da me informationes ulterior sur tu familia.

Patiente: Mi matre se inquieta sur me.

ELIZA: Esque il ha altere personas in tu familia que se inquieta sur te?

Patiente: Mi patre.

ELIZA: Tu patre?

Patiente: Tu es como mi patre de multe manieras.

ELIZA: Qual es le similaritate inter tu patre e me?

Patiente: Tu non es multo aggessive, ma io crede que tu non vole que io nota illo.

ELIZA: Pro que crede tu que io non es multo aggressive?

Patiente: Tu nunquam es in disaccordo con me.

ELIZA: Proque crede tu que io non es in disaccordo con te?

Patiente: Tu ha timor de me.

ELIZA: Esque iste possibilitate de timor te da sentimentos plus grande de securitate?

Patiente: Io non sape, ma mi patre ha timor de omnes.

ELIZA: Esque il ha altere cosas que veni a tu conscientia quanto tu pensa de tu patre?

Patiente: Brutos, como soldatos.

ELIZA: Esque illo ha un possibile relation con le desiro de tu amante que tu parla con me? . . .

Le programmation de ELIZA non comprendeva melio lo que illo diceva que un chronometro o un eveliator. Usante comparationes habile de parolas unic e gruppos de illos, le programma poteva reflecter como un speculo lo que diceva le patiente, cambiar pronomines, e adder questiones como "Proque crede tu illo?" o "Esque tu pote facer commentarios ulterior sur illo"?

E a causa de iste capacitate, illo poteva facer referentias facile a cosas que le patiente trovava importante, que es le essentia del methodo psychotherapeutic de Carl Rogers.

A vices le programma facerea transformationes pro elicitar nove information. Un exemplo esserea le uso, in le conversation supra, del parola "familia" in vice de "matre". A intervallos aleatori illo extraherea ex su memoria information electronic que le "patiente" habeva dicite antea, como le suggestion que su relationes con su patre habeva alicun relation con su amante.

Ma si le programma non poteva "pensar" de ulle altere cosa, illo sempre poterea dicer alique como "Tu ha dicite alique multo interessante. Continua."

In despecto del manco complete de conscientia de iste programma e su vacuitate affective complete, il habeva personas qui formava relationes intensivemente emotional con iste programma e qui credeva que illo les adjuva con lor problemas personal.

Isto provoca un question philosophic interessantissime: Qual es le valor de scholas de psychotherapia simile a illo de Carl Rogers si un programma tan impersonal e vacue como ELIZA pote inspirar tal sentimentos de utilitate inter personas qui forsan ha problemas significante in lor vitas personal?

---

ELIZA the Electronic Psychotherapist

Alan Turing proposed a way of determining if an electronic system was intelligent: If a person with a keyboard and a screen had a dialogue with something/someone and could not determine whether he or she was talking with a person or a computer and if eventually it was shown that he or she was talking with a computer, it then would be necessary to conlude that its programming was intelligent.

But Joseph Weizenbaum concluded that within well-defined limits, it would be very easy to simulate intelligence with rather simple computer programs.

Within the context of a psychotherapeutic session between a patient and a nondirective therapist like Carl Rogers, Weizenbaum constructed ELIZA, a rather simple program in the BASIC computer language.

His secretary, who had watched him while he elaborated this program, started to have dialogues with ELIZA. Soon other people wanted to discuss their personal problems with ELIZA, and in time this program became very popular.

Here is a typical example of a conversation between ELIZA and a "patient":

Patient: All the men in my life have been abusive.

ELIZA: In what way?

Patient: Okay, my new lover told me that you could help me.

ELIZA: Your new lover told you that I could help you?

Patient: He says that I am depressed most of the time when he is with me.

ELIZA: I am very sorry that you are depressed.

Patient: It is true that I'm unhappy.

ELIZA: Do you believe that talkng with me will help you be less unhappy?

Patient: It is obvious that I am in need of help.

ELIZA: What would be the meaning of this help to you?

Patient: Perhaps I could have more harmonious relations with my mother.

ELIZA: Give me some more information about your family.

Patient: My mother is worried about me.

ELIZA: Are there other people in your family who are worried about you?

Patient: My father.

ELIZA: Your father?

Patient: You are like my father in a lot of ways.

ELIZA: What are the similarities between your father and me?

Patient: You aren't very aggressive, but I believe that you do not want me to notice that.

ELIZA: Why do you believe that I am not very aggressive?

Patient: You are never in disagreement with me.

ELIZA: Why do you think that I am not in disagreement with you?

Patient: You are afraid of me.

ELIZA: Does this possibility of fear give you greater feelings of security?

Patient: I don't know, but my father is afraid of everyone.

ELIZA: Are there other things that come to your mind when you think of your father?

Patient: Bullies, like soldiers.

ELIZA: Does that have a possible relation with your lover's desire for you to speak with me? . . .

ELIZA's programming had no more understanding of what it was saying than a stopwatch or an alarm clock. Using clever comparisons of single words and groups of them, the program was able to reflect like a mirror what the patient said, change pronouns, and add questions like "Why do you believe that?" or "Can you make any further comments about that?"

And because of this capability, it could make easy references to things that the patient found important, which is the essence of the psychotherapeutic method of Carl Rogers.

At times the program would make transformatons to elicit new information. An example would be the use, in the conversation above, of the word "family" instead of "mother." At random intervals it would retrieve from its electronic memory information that the "patient" had said earlier, such as the suggestion that relationships with his or her father had some relation with his or her lover.

But if the program could not "think" of any other thing, it always was able to say something like "You've said something very interesting. Go on."

Despite the complete lack of consciousness of this program and its complete affective vacuity, there were people who formed with it intensive emotional relationships and who believed that it was helping them with their personal problems.

This raises a very interesting philosophical question: What is the value of schools of psychotherapy similar to Carl Rogers' if a program as impersonal and vacuous as ELIZA can inspire such feelings of usefulness among people who perhaps have significant problems in their personal lives?

No comments: