Joseph Weizenbaum Dies

Joseph Weizenbaum, whose famed conversational computer program, Eliza, foreshadowed the potential of artificial intelligence, but who grew skeptical about the potential for technology to improve the human condition, died on March 5 in Gröben, Germany. He was 85.

The cause was complications of cancer, said his daughter Sharon Weizenbaum.

Eliza, written while Mr. Weizenbaum was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964 and 1965 and named after Eliza Doolittle, who learned proper English in “Pygmalion” and “My Fair Lady,” was a groundbreaking experiment in the study of human interaction with machines.

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Attracted by his childhood experiences and the German language, Mr. Weizenbaum decided to return to Germany in 1996. His social criticism of computing technology was warmly received by a younger generation there. Much honored in German, he spoke frequently on the political and social consequences of technology.

His marriage to Ruth Manes Weizenbaum ended in divorce. Besides his daughter Sharon, of Amherst, Mass., he is survived by three other daughters: Miriam, of Providence, R.I.; Naomi, of Gröben; and Pm, of Seattle.

Rest In Peace, Joseph.