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Asked: 2026-05-11T02:27:21+00:00

So we learned a bit about the Turing Test in my AI class. This

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So we learned a bit about the Turing Test in my AI class. This got me thinking about it. I can see a few limitations with it:

  1. It’s limited to a certain context. What if I’m not designing an AI to converse with humans?
  2. It favors acting humanly over acting rationally. For example, if I’m designing an AI to control nuclear missiles, do I really want it to act human? Granted, this is an extreme example, but you get the idea.
  3. It could be influenced by factors that don’t indicate that the computer can think humanly. For example, suppose I ask what 2334 * 321 is. I could tell if the device is a computer because it will probably answer me fairly quickly while a human would have to figure it out. The solution? Make the computer pause.

Now, I’m sure that the Turing Test still has its place in determining machine intelligence. But I see it as being fairly limited in scope. Are there any alternatives? For that matter, am I wrong as to what I perceive to be its limitations?

EDIT: Let me be clear: I’m not suggesting that the Turing Test should be abandoned. I’m just curious if there are any other tests that overcome its limitations (probably trading them for other limitations).

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1 Answer

  1. Tell you what: before we answer your question, define ‘intelligence’.

    The Turing Test, as originally described, had some other problems too, the most notable of them being that it’s not ‘effective’, which is to say there is no way to tell when it’s over.

    Now, look at your (quite reasonable) objections: on one hand, if it gives the right answer too quickly, it would make you suspicious; on the other, you’re not sure it would be good if it gives wrong answers, even if it would make you think it might be ‘intelligent.’

    But, now, consider our interaction: you don’t know that I’m not an intelligent computer. How about, for a Star Trek reference, Mr Data on ST:TNG? He’s certainly distinguishable from a human and doesn’t give human responses at all times, but mostly passes.

    Now, let’s for a moment consider a person you meet who, instead of being intelligent, is completely a mechanism: no ‘consciousness’, no ‘soul.’ (This kind of entity is called a ‘philosophical zombie’ in the literature.) Except for that missing ‘consciousness’, this person, or simulacrum of a person, acts like a person in all other ways: expresses pain on an injury, shows pleasure when eating a good meal, shows affection to kittens and small children. (Corrected because I want to pass this test myself.)

    How could you tell that this philosophical zombie wasn’t ‘intelligent’ ?

    The point here is that you’ve got good questions, but there aren’t necessarily well-accepted answers. My own opinion of the Turing Test is that it’s a good valid test, because the point of it, as Turing himself said, is that if you can’t tell the difference between an intelligent or sentient computer, and a really intelligent entity, then you have to assume there is no difference.

    Some other things you could read:

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