The Turing Test

The Turing Test
I propose to consider the question "Can machines think?" This should begin with definitions of the meaning of the terms "machine" and "think."
Alan Turing (1950) "Computing Machinery and Artificial Intelligence", Mind vol. 59
What is the Turing Test?
The Turing Test was developed during the 1950's by a man by the name of Alan Turing. Basically, it is a test for artificial intelligence. Turing concluded that a machine could be seen as being intelligent if it could "fool" a human into believing it was human.
The original Turing Test involved a human interrogator using a computer terminal, which was in turn connected to two additional, and unseen, terminals. At one of the "unseen" terminals is a human; at the other is a piece of computer software or hardware written to act and respond as if it were human.
The interrogator would converse with both human and computer. If, after a certain amount of time (Turing proposed five minutes, but the exact amount of time is generally considered irrelevant), the interrogator cannot decide which candiate is the machine and which the human, the machine is said to be intelligent.
This test has been broadened over time, and generally a machine is said to have passed the Turing Test if it can convince the interrogator into believing it is human, without the need for a second, human, candidate.

So far, you've seen computers in schools as things for kids to do spreadsheets or, gawdhelpus, Powerpoint presentations on. A combined typewriter and adding machine. But in fact, you already use one supercomputer regularly; it's called Google. In future you will use many more without even thinking about it. And just how super do I mean? According to futurologist Ray Kurzweil, we can expect computer intelligence to match our own by 2013 (see graph) - just six years from now.
Try this thought-experiment. Thinks of fairly complex web search, the sort where you are not confident Google would give you the answers you need. Now imagine that Google gets a program that would allow it to write back to you and ask questions about your search, to understand it better. Plausible? Good. Now imagine that over four or five years, Google refine this program to the point where you can't really tell whether it's the program asking you questions, or another human being. Still plausible? Well guess what, your imaginary Google has just passed the Turing Test, the best-established benchmark for human-like intelligence in computers.

Blank Screen, Help

"test entry due to blank screen", Oh dear where is my blog?

Well all seems to be o.k now and the niggle did allow me to experience the use of a proxy server site which at least allowed me to view my own blog " What a thrill" 1/3/07