Dr. Sbaitso
Encyclopedia
Dr. Sbaitso was an artificial intelligence
program for MS DOS-based personal computer
.
Acting Intelligent Text to Speech Operator) in the early 1990s.
The program would "converse" with the user as if it were a psychologist
, though most of its responses were along the lines of "WHY DO YOU FEEL THAT WAY?" rather than any sort of complicated interaction. (When confronted with a phrase it could not understand, it would often reply with something such as "THAT'S NOT MY PROBLEM".) Dr. Sbaitso would repeat text out loud that was typed after the word "SAY". Repeated swearing or abusive behavior on the part of the user would cause Dr. Sbaitso to "break down" in a "PARITY ERROR" before resetting himself.
The program would introduce itself with the following lines:
Example:
HELLO [UserName], MY NAME IS DOCTOR SBAITSO.
I AM HERE TO HELP YOU.
SAY WHATEVER IS IN YOUR MIND FREELY,
OUR CONVERSATION WILL BE KEPT IN STRICT CONFIDENCE.
MEMORY CONTENTS WILL BE WIPED OFF AFTER YOU LEAVE,
SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.
The program was designed to showcase the digitized voices
the cards were able to produce, though the quality was far from life-like. Its AI engine was likely based on something similar to the ELIZA
algorithm.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
program for MS DOS-based personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
.
History
Dr. Sbaitso was distributed with various sound cards published by Creative Labs (the name was an acronym for Sound BlasterSound Blaster
The Sound Blaster family of sound cards was the de facto standard for consumer audio on the IBM PC compatible system platform, until the widespread transition to Microsoft Windows 95, which standardized the programming interface at application level , and the evolution in PC design led to onboard...
Acting Intelligent Text to Speech Operator) in the early 1990s.
The program would "converse" with the user as if it were a psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
, though most of its responses were along the lines of "WHY DO YOU FEEL THAT WAY?" rather than any sort of complicated interaction. (When confronted with a phrase it could not understand, it would often reply with something such as "THAT'S NOT MY PROBLEM".) Dr. Sbaitso would repeat text out loud that was typed after the word "SAY". Repeated swearing or abusive behavior on the part of the user would cause Dr. Sbaitso to "break down" in a "PARITY ERROR" before resetting himself.
The program would introduce itself with the following lines:
Example:
HELLO [UserName], MY NAME IS DOCTOR SBAITSO.
I AM HERE TO HELP YOU.
SAY WHATEVER IS IN YOUR MIND FREELY,
OUR CONVERSATION WILL BE KEPT IN STRICT CONFIDENCE.
MEMORY CONTENTS WILL BE WIPED OFF AFTER YOU LEAVE,
SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.
The program was designed to showcase the digitized voices
Speech synthesis
Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware...
the cards were able to produce, though the quality was far from life-like. Its AI engine was likely based on something similar to the ELIZA
ELIZA
ELIZA is a computer program and an early example of primitive natural language processing. ELIZA operated by processing users' responses to scripts, the most famous of which was DOCTOR, a simulation of a Rogerian psychotherapist. Using almost no information about human thought or emotion, DOCTOR...
algorithm.