Computer Power and Human Reason
{{Short description|1976 book by Joseph Weizenbaum}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{infobox book
| name = Computer Power and Human Reason
| image = Computer Power and Human Reason by Joseph Weizenbaum.jpg
| caption = Book cover
| author = Joseph Weizenbaum
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| genre = Nonfiction
| publisher = W. H. Freeman and Company
| release_date = 1976
| media_type = Print
| pages = 300
| isbn = 978-0716704645
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment to Calculation is a 1976 nonfiction book by German-American computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum in which he contends that while artificial intelligence may be possible, we should never allow computers to make important decisions, as they will always lack human qualities such as compassion and wisdom.{{cite journal|last=Hines|first=Dwight |title=Review of Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment to Calculation |journal=The Journal of Mind and Behavior |date=1980 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=123–126 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43852815 |access-date=December 5, 2024 |jstor=43852815}}
Background
Before writing Computer Power and Human Reason, Weizenbaum had garnered significant attention for creating the ELIZA program, an early milestone in conversational computing. His firsthand observation of people attributing human-like qualities to a simple program prompted him to reflect more deeply on society's readiness to entrust moral and ethical considerations to machines.{{cite web|url=https://news.mit.edu/2008/obit-weizenbaum-0310 |title=Joseph Weizenbaum, pioneering AI researcher and critic, dies at 85|publisher=MIT News|date=March 10, 2008|access-date=December 5, 2024}}
Reception and legacy
Computer Power and Human Reason sparked scholarly debate on the acceptable scope of AI applications, particularly in fields where human welfare and ethical considerations are paramount. Early academic reviews highlighted that Weizenbaum's stance pushed readers to recognize that even as computers grow more capable, they lack the intrinsic moral compass and empathy required for certain kinds of judgment.{{cite journal |last=Loeb |first=Zachary |title=The lamp and the lighthouse: Joseph Weizenbaum, contextualizing the critic|journal=Interdisciplinary Science Reviews |date=2021 |volume=46 |issue=1-2 |pages=19–35 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03080188.2020.1840218 |access-date=December 5, 2024}}{{cite journal|last=Bassett|first=Caroline|title=The computational therapeutic: exploring Weizenbaum's ELIZA as a history of the present|journal=AI & Society |date=2019|volume=34|issue=4|pages=803–812|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-018-0825-9|access-date=December 5, 2024}}{{cite episode|title=Electronic Teaching|url=http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-507-m03xs5k70p|series=The MacNeil/Lehrer Report|credits=NewsHour Productions (Producer)|publisher=American Archive of Public Broadcasting|access-date=December 5, 2024}}
The book caused disagreement with, and separation from other members of the artificial intelligence research community, a status the author later said he'd come to take pride in.{{cite news |title=Joseph Weizenbaum, Famed Programmer, Is Dead at 85 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/world/europe/13weizenbaum.html |publisher=The New York Times |date=March 13, 2008}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.plugandpray-film.com/en/Plug & Pray, Documentary Film on Joseph Weizenbaum and the ethics of technology]