MIT Press announces 'Inventing ELIZA', a book exploring how the first chatbot shaped the future of AI, authored by multiple contributors and due for release in July 2026.
<p>The book "Inventing ELIZA - How the First Chatbot Shaped the Future of AI". It is Open Access so the link to the PDF is <a href="https://direct.mit.edu/books/book-pdf/2615293/book_9780262052504.pdf" rel="ugc">here</a></p>
<p>The book has a companion <a href="findingeliza.org" rel="ugc">site</a> - I was monitoring this since I first heard the <a href="https://corecursive.com/eliza-with-jeff-shrager/" rel="ugc">episode</a> on CoRecursive.</p>
<p><a href="https://lobste.rs/s/hquwey/inventing_eliza_how_first_chatbot_shaped">Comments</a></p>
# Inventing ELIZA
Source: [https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262052481/inventing-eliza/](https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262052481/inventing-eliza/)
### [Software Studies](https://mitpress.mit.edu/series/software-studies/)
## How the First Chatbot Shaped the Future of AI
by[Sarah Ciston](https://mitpress.mit.edu/author/sarah-ciston-42099),[David M\. Berry](https://mitpress.mit.edu/author/david-m-berry-27787),[Anthony C\. Hay](https://mitpress.mit.edu/author/anthony-c-hay-42100),[Mark C\. Marino](https://mitpress.mit.edu/author/mark-c-marino-21068),[Peter Millican](https://mitpress.mit.edu/author/peter-millican-42101),[Jeff Shrager](https://mitpress.mit.edu/author/jeff-shrager-11146),[Arthur I\. Schwarz](https://mitpress.mit.edu/author/arthur-i-schwarz-42102)and[Peggy Weil](https://mitpress.mit.edu/author/peggy-weil-42103)
Foreword by[Janet H\. Murray](https://mitpress.mit.edu/author/janet-h-murray-13232)
### Paperback
##### $35\.00
Paperback
ISBN: 9780262052481
Pub date: July 14, 2026
Publisher: The MIT Press
350 pp\.,6 x 9 in,
[MIT Press Bookstore](https://mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/book/9780262052481)[Penguin Random House](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/search/site/?q=9780262052481)[Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0262052482/)[Barnes and Noble](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/9780262052481/)[Bookshop\.org](https://bookshop.org/a/2238/9780262052481)[Indiebound](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780262052481)[Indigo](https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/search?keywords=9780262052481&pageSize=10)
### eBook
eBook
ISBN: 9780262052498
Pub date: July 14, 2026
Publisher: The MIT Press
350 pp\.,6 x 9 in,
[Penguin Random House](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/search/site/?q=9780262052498)
An excerpt from a new book recovers the long-missing source code of ELIZA, the first chatbot, and explores its impact on human-computer relationships and the modern AI industry.
MIT has created a new undergraduate class combining anthropology and computer science to teach students how to design chatbots and AI systems with humane user experience principles, addressing concerns about addictive digital platforms and promoting ethical AI design.
A skeptical software engineer argues that chatbots are overhyped and that the real value of AI lies in using language models as reliable compute components in engineering systems, encouraging developers to integrate AI into practical applications beyond conversational interfaces.
The article argues that AI is shifting from chat-based interfaces to autonomous background agents that operate without human hand-holding, marking a transition from prompting an assistant to managing a digital assembly line.