>That'd be Eliza. I remember playing with a shorter version of it (i.e. as much as could fit in the 8K my ZX Spectrum had then). It was interesting for about ten minutes, and then you'd see it ran out of tricks pretty fast. But with a larger database and more parsing rules in it, it could stand the Touring test for several minutes.
It might be Eliza, the name rings a bell. What I remember for sure is that it was written in LISP, by the time one of my preferred languages (and I would be 100% sure of it's name was Dr. LISP if my memory weren't this bad). I know the program ran out of tricks pretty fast, when I tried it it was boring after the first minute, but, in my brother's hands it was very funny.
"The five senses obstruct or deform the apprehension of reality."
Jorge L. Borges?
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil in programming."
Donald Knuth, repeating C. A. R. Hoare
"To die for a religion is easier than to live it absolutely"
Jorge L. Borges