Did Siri divorce ELIZA?

Question

Did Siri divorce ELIZA?

I'm old enough to remember ELIZA, played with it quite a bit in the day. But obviously both AI and I have changed. So one day out of curiosity I asked Siri who ALIZA was. Siri seemed incredibly enthused (I *think* it referred to ELIZA as its aunt, though I may be misremembering. A lot of positive remarks. What fun, I thought. Then last year I was talking to someone about ELIZA and picked up my phone and asked Siri about ELIZA, and there was... nothing. Had no idea what I was talking about.

What happened?

iPhone 13, iOS 18

Posted on Jul 19, 2025 8:27 AM

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Answer 1

lkrupp

Level 7

21,733 points

Jul 19, 2025 8:41 AM in response to jeannette from north truro

You’re obsessing over a 1960s early language processing model that Siri doesn’t respond to? Okay.

Try placing your question in context. I just asked Siri to “tell me about the early language model ELIZA” and Siri answered with a detailed description and even offered to continue with more information if desired. Pretty good response in my opinion.

Just asking about the word ELIZA literally means nothing.

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Answer 2

Jul 19, 2025 8:50 AM in response to lkrupp

Okay, I'm totally embarrassed. Thank you for this. I just asked her "who is ELIZA?" and that was what elicited the enthusiasm... your question was excellent.

And yeah, I think a lot about weird things.

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