Joseph Weizenbaum’s essay about his ELIZA/DOCTOR program profoundly touches base on how humans react and grow attached to what appears to be artificial intelligences as well as virtual reality. Weizenbaum shared his experiences on how a number of individuals felt like this virtual therapist was actually helping them through their problems and feelings, when in actuality, the program had a number of set responses that just sent versions of the patient’s questions back at them. When I was reading this article it reminded me of a number of programs that are on the internet today like WebMD. You simply type in your symptoms and it gives you a diagnosis. Sure, this is helpful when you might have the flu or a bad cold, but it does not come close to an actual doctor. Like WebMD, I think that ELIZA could be used as an exercise for people who are suffering from depression and other mental illnesses, but it should not be an only form of therapy. Eliza asking questions that make the depressed look inwards can possibly help themselves understand a little better about what is happening inside them, yet having human interaction can be much more affective. The human therapist can pry deeper into certain subjects and give a real emotional response.