If you’re not familiar with that name, among his accomplishments, Weizenbaum created a computer program called ELIZA.
Driven by a script named DOCTOR, it was capable of engaging humans in a conversation which bore a striking resemblance to one with an empathic psychologist. Weizenbaum modeled its conversational style after Carl Rogers, who introduced the use of open-ended questions to encourage patients to communicate more effectively with therapists. The program applied pattern matching rules to the human's statements to figure out its replies. (Programs like this are now called chatterbots.)
This Twitterer is acting like ELIZA, which, for the people never duped into believing an actual counselor was in the next room over, was a pain in the ass.
And, since Weizenbaum himself has been dead for a year, this Twitterer is a pain in the ass indeed.
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