6 Minute English / Should we fear chatbots?

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Neil Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I m Neil.

And I m Rob.

Now, I m sure most of us have interacted with a chatbot. These are bits of computer technology that respond to text with text or respond to your voice. You ask it a question and it usually comes up with an answer!

Yes, it s almost like talking to another human, but of course it s not it s just a clever piece of technology. It is becoming more sophisticated more advanced and complex, but could they replace real human interaction altogether?

We ll discuss that more in a moment and find out if chatbots really think for themselves. But first I have a question for you, Rob. The first computer program that allowed some kind of plausible conversation between humans and machines was invented in 1966, but what was it called? Was it:

a) ALEXA

b) ELIZA

c) PARRY

It s not Alexa that s too new so I ll guess c) PARRY.