If software is narrative: Joseph Weizenbaum, artificial intelligence, and the biographies of ELIZA

Software is usually studied in terms of the changes triggered by its operations in the material world. Yet, to understand its social and cultural impact, one needs to examine also the different narratives that circulate about it. Software’s opacity, in fact, makes it prone to being translated into a plurality of narratives that help people make sense of its functioning and presence. Drawing from the case of Joseph Weizenbaum’s ELIZA, widely considered the first chatbot ever created, this paper proposes a theoretical framework based on the concept of “biographies of media” to illuminate the dynamics and implications of software’s discursive life. The case of ELIZA is particularly relevant in this regard because it became the center of competing narratives, whose trajectories transcended the actual functioning of this program and shaped key controversies about the implications of computing and AI

Computers and the Nature of Man: A Historian\u27s Perspective on Controversies about Artificial Intelligence

The purpose of the present paper is to provide a historical perspective on recent controversies, from Turing\u27s time on, about artificial intelligence, and to make clear that these are in fact controversies about the nature of man. First, I shall briefly review three recent controversies about artificial intelligence, controversies over whether computers can think and over whether people are no more than information-processing machines. These three controversies were each initiated by philosophers who, irrespective of what the programs of their time actually did, viewed with alarm the argument that if a machine can think, a thinking being is just a machine. I will then turn to the major business of this paper: to contrast two developments from within the field of AI which have been interpreted by some as successful steps toward simulating human thought, and also to contrast some reactions to that claimed success. Finally, we will look at some recent developments in the field of AI that suggest that the whole discussion about machine intelligence is at best premature and at worst irrelevant

Reading "all about" computerization: five common genres of social analysis

This paper examines unstated, but critical, social assumptions which underlie analyses of computerization. It focuses on the popular, professional and scholarly literature which claims to describe the actual nature of computerization, the character of computer use, and the social choices and changes that result from computerization. This literature can be usefully segmented five ideal type genres: utopian, anti-utopian, social realism, social theory, and analytical reduction. Each genre is characterized and illustrated. The strengths and weaknesses of each genre are described. In the 1990s, there will be a large market for social analyses of computerization. Utopian analyses are most likely to domínate the popular and professional discourse. The empirically oriented accounts of social realism, social theory and analytical reduction, are likely to be much less common and also less commonly seen and read by computer professionals and policymakers. These genres are relatively subtle, portray a more ambiguous world, and have less rhetorical power to capture the imagination of readers. Even though they are more scientific, these empirically anchored genres don't seem to appeal to many scientists and engineers. It is ironic that computing -- often portrayed as an instrument of knowledge -- is primarily the subject of discourses whose knowledge claims are most suspect. Conversely, the discourses whose claims as valid knowledge are strongest seems to have much less appeal in the mass media and technological communities

Chatbots’ greetings to human-computer communication

In the last years, chatbots have gained new attention, due to the interest showed by widely known personalities and companies. The concept is broad, and, in this paper we target the work developed by the (old) community that is typically associated with chatbot’s competitions. In our opinion, they contribute with very interesting know-how, but specially with large-scale corpora, gathered by interactions with real people, an invaluable resource considering the renewed interest in Deep Nets.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ethics of computing

This paper begins by drawing on early discussions concerning ethical aspects of computer technology and proceeds to use them to highlight different problem areas: technical, application, and environment. We then look at some of the major issues under discussion since these early writings, to show the scope of the problems, as well as their changing nature, as different technologies are introduced. This background sets the scene for the discussions of moral responsibility, and moral choices referred to above. Some of the technologies that are on the horizon, are discussed showing some correspondence to concerns raised more than 20 years ago. Finally, the moral points raised are brought together in a set of questions that could provide the basis of moral consideration when designing for the future

Anti-computing

We live in a moment of high anxiety around digital transformation. Computers are blamed for generating toxic forms of culture and ways of life. Once part of future imaginaries that were optimistic or even utopian, today there is a sense that things have turned out very differently. Anti-computing is widespread. This book seeks to understand its cultural and material logics, its forms, and its operations. Anti-Computing critically investigates forgotten histories of dissent – moments when the imposition of computational technologies, logics, techniques, imaginaries, utopias have been questioned, disputed, or refused. It asks why dissent is forgotten and how - under what circumstances - it revives. Constituting an engagement with media archaeology/medium theory and working through a series of case studies, this book is compelling reading for scholars in digital media, literary, cultural history, digital humanities and associated fields at all levels