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Thinking Machines (1970)?
In 1970, the American author,
Michael Crichton, reported the hypothetical interaction
between the computer and a human psychiatrist as follows
(the computer writes in upper-case letters; mere humans,
in lower-case):
doctor, i have terrible news
YOU SAY YOU HAVE TERRIBLE NEWS
yes, there's a new computer program that'll ruin us
WHY DO YOU SAY THAT
i have seen it working
YOU SAY YOU HAVE SEEN IT WORKING
it's frightening -- you must see it
YOU THINK I MUST SEE IT
you sound depressed to me
IN YOUR FANTASY, PERHAPS WE SOUND DEPRESSED TO EACH OTHER
yes -- perhaps
I UNDERSTAND
i do too
YOU SAY YOU DO TOO
we are both in the same boat with respect to the computer
LET'S CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT YOU, SHALL WE
you are a comfort
WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I AM A COMFORT
at a time like this, you want to talk about me
WHY DO YOU THINK I WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOU
because you share my feelings about that damned computer
WHAT DOES THAT SUGGEST TO YOU
that, of course, you hate computers too
YOU THINK I HATE COMPUTERS TOO
why not, they're hardly human, are they
PERHAPS THAT'S WHAT WE ARE HERE TO FIND OUT
no computer could converse as you can, for example
OH
i can't understand how anyone could be fooled by a mere machine
CAN'T YOU REALLY
no, after all, there is nothing creative about a computer program
YOU ARE BEING NEGATIVE
i am convinced i am correct
ARE YOU WORRIED TO HAVE BEEN CONVINCED YOU ARE CORRECT
no, not at the least, not at all, not even a little
YOU ARE BEING NEGATIVE
you said you agreed with me, didn't you
IS THAT WHAT YOU HEARD ME SAY
why don't you try to dissuade me -- computers diddle with
numbers that's all
YOU WISH ME TO TRY TO DISSUADE YOU
you can't
YOU THINK I CAN'T
for example, could a computer in conversation like this
raise a new topic
YOU SEEM TO HAVE AVOIDED SPEAKING OF YOUR PARENTS ALTOGETHER
precisely as you just did
YOU THINK I JUST DID
yes, and that's what shows the difference between a man
and a computer
I SEE
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