I'll check out ELIZA, sounds interesting. There is something appealing about talking to a bot as it won't be judgemental, but after thinking about this some more, I am not sure I would want to try this unless I could be sure it was on a closed system in my home or couldn't be hacked. Of course, as long as it is on the net, it can be hacked, so out of the question for now.

I also see it as a mechanism of increasing social isolation if not used wisely, and we have seen just how wisely people use technology in general. The smombies are a case in point. Young people are already totally lost in their smartphones, but at least they share things with real people that they experience that way, but what happens when they can just "show" it to their chatbot to have the feeling of having shared it with someone?