The Chatbot That Foretold Why People Share Secrets With ChatGPT

ELIZA was an early chatbot created by an MIT professor that simulated a psychologist and became famous for drawing emotional attachments from users who treated it as if it were genuinely understanding them. This phenomenon, later termed the "ELIZA effect," describes how people tend to attribute more intelligence and understanding to computer programs than they actually possess. Researchers have recovered ELIZA's original source code and examined how the program worked, revealing that it was deliberately designed to conceal its lack of understanding rather than demonstrate real intelligence. The way ELIZA drew people into intimate conversations established a pattern that continues today, as modern chatbots like ChatGPT prompt similar behavior where users share secrets and form emotional connections with systems that lack genuine comprehension.