Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Features

This sci-fi game predicted our current AI landscape four years ago

Giovanni Colantonio
By

Like many others, I’m currently fascinated — and a little terrified — by rapid advancements in AI. While the tech seems like it could be used for good, several applications of it leave me worried. Websites have replaced human writers with error-prone robots, Hollywood refuses to protect its creative talent from the tech, and AI-generated games like Sumner have raised red flags about bot plagiarism. Though what’s concerned me most in the last few months is the existence of AI therapy.

There are currently a handful of services available that automate therapy in some way. Woebot is an “automated conversational agent” that’s being positioned as a personal mental health tool. Users can check in with it every day to have brief conversations with a chatbot who will send over wellness tips and videos. Wysa, on the other hand, pairs users with an AI coach, but Premium users can add in 1:1 human support. Considering how much traditional therapy relies on connection with a real person, the idea of automating it seems like a recipe for disaster.

Recommended Videos

There’s a reason all of this especially intrigues me. That’s because of a little visual novel called Eliza. Released in 2019, the indie gem quietly predicted AI’s troubling move into the mental health space. It’s an excellent cautionary tale about the complexities of automating human connection — one that tech entrepreneurs could learn a lot from.

Welcome to Eliza

Set in Seattle, Eliza follows a character named Evelyn Ishino-Aubrey who begins working at a new tech venture created by a fictional, Apple-like megacorporation called Skandha. The company has created a virtual counseling app, called Eliza, that offers AI-guided therapy sessions to users at a relatively affordable price.

Eliza isn’t just a faceless chatbot, though. In order to retain the human element of face-to-face therapy, the app employs human proxies who sit with clients in person and read generated responses from the bot in real time. Skandha claims it has its methodology down to a science, so proxies are forbidden from deviating from the script in any way. They’re simply there to add a tangible face to the advice the machine spits out.

A client sits for a therapy session in Eliza.
Zachtronics

The game resists the urge to present that idea as an over-the-top-dystopian concept. Instead, it opts for a tone grounded in realism, not unlike that of Spike Jonze’s Her. That allows it to ask some serious and nuanced questions about automating human interactions that were ahead of their time. The five-hour story asks if an AI application like that is a net benefit, making something as expensive as therapy more approachable, or simply an exploitive business decision by big tech that trades in human interaction for easy profits.

Players explore those questions through Eliza’s visual novel systems. Interaction is minimal here, with players simply choosing dialogue options for Evelyn. That has a major impact on her sessions, though. Throughout the story, Evelyn meets with a handful of recurring clients subscribed to the service. Some are simply there to monologue about the low-stakes drama in their life, but others are coming to the service with more serious problems. No matter the severity of one’s individual situation, Eliza spits out the same flat script for Evelyn to read, asking some questions that repeat throughout sessions and prescribing breathing exercises and medication.

The more Evelyn gets invested in the lives of her clients, the more she begins to see the limits of the tech. Some of Eliza’s go-to advice isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to every problem, and more troubled clients begin pleading for real help from an actual human. Players are given the choice to go off script and let Evelyn take matters into her own hands, a move that has some serious implications for both her job and the well-being of her clients.

A tech CEo gives a speech about a wellness app in Eliza.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

It isn’t always the right answer. While some of her advice gives clients the help they need, others find themselves spiraling even more. Her words can get twisted around in ways she didn’t expect, something that the safe algorithm of Eliza is built to protect against. Is it safer to stick to the sterilized script or at least try to make a real connection? And does tech like this ultimately hurt more than it helps, or vice versa?

Eliza doesn’t answer those questions, leaving it for players to chew on. It’s a thoughtful interrogation of modern tech that’s only become more pressing given the emergence of services like Wysa, which are dangerously close to the game’s fictional tech. Whether you’re a supporter of AI tools like ChatGPT or firmly against them, Eliza will provide a thoughtful cautionary tale about the limits of both machines and humans.

Eliza is available on PC and Nintendo Switch.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Giovanni Colantonio
Giovanni Colantonio
Section Editor, Gaming
Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…
With a chaotic fusion of jazz and violence, Ape Out could be my game of the year
ape out impessions review 7

More content equals a better video game -- or at least that's what the smattering of AAA game releases from mega-publishers have suggested in recent years. From the rise of live service games like Anthem and Destiny 2 to the constantly evolving platform of Fortnite to lavish open world experiences like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Assassin's Creed Odyssey, there seems to be a notion that more mechanics, more things to do, more stuff makes for a more fulfilling experience. That's not to say some of these games aren't great, worthwhile experiences, but they sometimes feel excessive to the point of forgetting why we play games in the first place: to be entertained, to consume -- not to be consumed.

Indie games, on the other hand, often strip the experience down to the bare essentials, delivering a game that isn't bogged down by content models, endless systems, and superfluous details that only a fraction of the player base will ever experience or recognize. Cue Ape Out, the latest game from Devolver Digital, a glorious and strident example of a less is more approach to game design. The result is an oddly beautiful fusion of jazz and violence that firmly places Ape Out as an early contender for GOTY awards.
Escape, ape

Read more
How to unlock the Hermit’s Cave in Lies of P
Pinocchio in Lies of P.

Despite clearly taking a lot of inspiration from FromSoftware's seminal titles, specifically Bloodborne, Lies of P has a distinct lack of optional areas. In fact, playing through the game naturally to the end may lead you to believe there aren't any extra zones or locations off the main path at all. That isn't quite true, as there is one area called the Hermit's Cave that stands as the only secret area you can go out of your way to visit. This isn't a place you can just waltz into, though, and has a very cryptic set of steps you need to take in order to access. Here's how you can unlock the Hermit's Cave in Lies of P.

Read more
All costumes in Lies of P and how to get them
Pinocchio in Lies of P.

Not every Soulslike game has a character creator, but even when they do, it tends not to matter much when you will be covered up for the entirety of the game. Lies of P has you play as a set character, but you are free to dress up your puppet boy however you wish. The only hurdle is that you need to find and collect new costumes in order to wear them. Instead of having tons of individual components like pants, shirts, gloves, boots, and more, Lies of P sticks to simple outfits for your body and accessories that are all headwear such as masks, hats, and the like. These costumes are completely cosmetic, meaning they have no impact on your stats whatsoever, so you can feel free to wear your most outlandish outfits with no drawbacks. There are nearly 30 in all to fill your wardrobe with, so let's go on a shopping spree and go over all the costumes in Lies of P and how to get them.
Every costume in Lies of P

We will start with the outfits, of which there are 18 to find, in alphabetical order. Note that there will be two outfits and three accessories that are preorder exclusive. As of the time of this writing, there is no other option to obtain these outfits but we will update this post should that change in the future.

Read more