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Vergecast: ELIZA, the world's first chatbot

2026-08-12 · 40 min · 8 entities

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Asserted relationships

  • → discusses Technology company
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    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Technology
  • → discusses History website
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    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: History
  • → hosted by The Verge company
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    Feed author/publisher: The Verge

Entities found in this episode

companys 4

  • mentioned The Verge company
    0.70
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: The Verge
  • mentioned Technology company
    0.50
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Technology
  • discusses Technology company
    0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Technology
  • hosted by The Verge company
    0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: The Verge

websites 2

  • mentioned History website
    0.50
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: History
  • discusses History website
    0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: History

concepts 2

Episode description as stored
From The Vergecast, this episode takes a look back at one of the earliest chapters in the history of AI. Before Alexa and Siri, there was ELIZA. The first chatbot ever was the creation of a man named Joseph Weizenbaum, who built the bot almost as a magic trick — and then couldn't believe how many people fell for it. David Berry and Mark Marino, two members of a team dedicated to restoring and understanding ELIZA, explain how Weizenbaum created the virtual conversant, why he came to regret it, and what ELIZA can teach us about life in the AI age. We’re also on video! Check us out on YouTube. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices