Eliza is real now. What now?
In Eliza, a 2019 visual novel developed by Zachtronics, a software developer Evelyn develops the titular automated therapy system in an effort to help people in a world where professionals are chronically short in supply. She grapples with the ramifications of her own inventions, from shit life syndrome that software inherently cannot solve to safe but unhelpful advice that traps patients.
Well, the year is 2026 and we are fully in the reality envisioned by Eliza. No computer scientist in 2019 would have been able to guess the explosive adoption of chatbots, including for sensitive subjects. Yet this is the reality faced by researchers, developers, regulators, and users. What now?