
Eliza explores the dangers of on-demand digital therapy - cstuder
https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2019/8/12/20798997/eliza-zachtronics-visual-novel-review-impressions
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jszymborski
I think the name might be a nod to Eliza, the Computer therapist, first
written in the 60s.

Here's an online version [0]

[0]
[http://psych.fullerton.edu/mbirnbaum/psych101/Eliza.htm](http://psych.fullerton.edu/mbirnbaum/psych101/Eliza.htm)

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roywiggins
There's exactly zero chance it's not, which makes this review weird to read.
"Eliza mostly seems to listen to its patients a bit before asking leading
questions to get them to speak more. I don’t notice much insight being offered
about their problems." Hardly a surprise for a machine named Eliza, since
that's the exact same gambit the real Eliza chatbot uses!

(And that's not what a leading question is! A leading question is trying to
provoke a specific answer, not to try and get them to speak generally. "How do
you feel about that" is the opposite of a leading question)

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RodgerTheGreat
My take is that, in the game, the Eliza software is extremely overhyped in its
capabilities. As a player, you're _supposed_ to develop the impression that it
isn't what it's cracked up to be, which is part of what makes the game a
rather deft criticism of how so-called "Machine Learning" is used by many
real-world companies.

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roywiggins
It's just weird to read a review that doesn't make that connection, is all.

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RodgerTheGreat
Most people that do not work closely with computers aren't aware of how much
smoke and mirrors is involved in the "real" implementations of this kind of
technology. (And for that matter, a lot of people who _do_ work with computers
are in denial about it.)

I don't fault the creators at Zachtronics for taking a subtle approach to
writing the game, but it's a bit of an uphill battle to raise public awareness
of the limitations and outright fraud surrounding ML-based products.

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roywiggins
The original ELIZA program is sort of a special case, since it's _famous_ for
being a lookup table consisting mostly of "and how does that make you feel?"
and yet still being convincing to a subset of patients who felt helped by it.
I think the author of the review just hadn't heard of ELIZA.

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vorpalhex
Context:

> Eliza, the first visual novel from Zachtronics, the developer of Exapunks
> and Opus Magnum, explores a reality where digital therapy and AI merge to
> solve healthcare at scale. It’s a departure from the studio’s other titles,
> which felt more like puzzle games for programmers. Instead, Zachtronics’ new
> title is a fully voice-acted, conversation-based story game where players
> role-play as a character engaged in a story that changes based on their
> decisions.

This is a visual novel game where you play as a human proxy for a counseling
AI.

~~~
pdkl95
In addition to the exploration of using "AI" for counseling, Eliza also
features an interesting ethical investigation; you play as the lead programmer
who _wrote_ the AI, left the company three years prior to the game's events,
and is now taking an entry level job reading the AI-proscribed script to
patients. The representation of tech-startup culture can be uncomfortably
accurate.

If you were thinking of ignoring this simply because it's a visual novel,
remember who wrote it. This is an interactive stor from Zachtronics! Eliza is
a visual novel from the same people that wrote the clever "datasheet" manual
in Shenzhen I/O and the "zines" in Exapunks. Zach, more than most authors,
knows how to write about tech's impact on culture/society!

~~~
pop12121
Just wanted to correct that Eliza is actually written by Zachtronics writer
Matthew Burns, not Zach, but totally agree on the ethical investigation part.

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black_puppydog
There's a nice long (!) format discussion of this in the last two episodes of
the General Intellect Unit podcast. Of course, play it first if you don't like
spoilers.

[http://generalintellectunit.net/e/045-eliza-
part-1/](http://generalintellectunit.net/e/045-eliza-part-1/)

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0_gravitas
Zachtronics! He's one of my favorite game devs, I'll definitely have to pick
this one up as well.

