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Can A.I. Treat Mental Illness? | The New Yorker

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New computer systems aim to peer inside our heads—and to help us fix what they find there.

Save this story Save this story In the nineteen-sixties, Joseph Weizenbaum, a computer scientist at M.I.T., created a computer program called Eliza. It was designed to simulate Rogerian therapy, in which the patient directs the conversation and the therapist often repeats her language back to her: U ser : My boyfriend made me come here. E liza : Your boyfriend made you come here. U ser : He says I’m depressed much of the time. E liza : I am sorry to hear you are depressed. U ser : It’s true. I am unhappy. E liza : Do you think coming here will help you not to be unhappy? Weizenbaum made Eliza

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