I n the mid-1960s Joseph Weizenbaum created a stunning piece of software. Years before HAL 9000's screen debut in 2001: A Space Odyssey, this software, Eliza, made it possible to have a conversation with a computer. Eliza's most famous script,Doctor, caused the software to parody the conversational patterns of non-directive therapists during an initial visit. While Eliza/Doctor can seem quite s...

King-Hwa Ling1,3,4, Chelsee A. Hewitt1, Sarah A. Kinkel1,3, Gordon K. Smyth2,3, and Hamish S. Scott1,3,4* 1Division of Molecular Medicine, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; 2Division of Bioinformatics, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; 3Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine...

1. Autoimmunity & Transplantation Division, Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1 G Royal Parade, Parkville 3050, Victoria, Australia 2. Burnet Clinical Research Unit, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Grattan Street, Parkville 3050, Victoria, Australia 3. Centre for Obesity Research and Education, Monash University, Commercial Road, Prahran 3181, Victoria, Australia 4. Bioinformatics Di...

1 Population Health and ImmunityDivision,Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research,Melbourne, Australia, 2 Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, 3 Infection and Immunity Division,Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research,Melbourne, Australia, 4 Malaria Immuno-EpidemiologyUnit, PNG Institute of Medical Research,Madang, Papua New Guinea,...

The Eliza [1] program relies on having a rich backing script to generate responses based on matches with words the user types. If it were to have a script the size and complexity of Google, it might be able to pass as a live human. If the user’s entry contains no matching words in the script, the program could use the resources of Google to generate something new and appropriate. The introducti...

This paper describes Viktoria, an entertaining interactive guide on the Web that informs visitors about the Viktoria Research Institute. By applying the models of communication used in the well-known Eliza program, it expresses emotional states and communicates by using natural language. It has enhanced functionality compared to Eliza in that it has the ability to associate and remember the sub...