The Turing Test

Conversations with Computers #

Artificial intelligence has been researched for decades, and has resulted in many useful products, but still no system that is as intelligent as a human.

This activity explores just how we might recognise whether a system is truly “intelligent”. It involves reasoning about what it means to be intelligent, and even what makes us human.

Activity description (PDF) #

• Instructions for The Turing Test activity (English)

Translations and other versions #

• Chinese language version
• Polish language version

Related Resources #

More activities #

• The Royal Institution UK and Microsoft Research together have produced activities in Machine Learning for the classroom at locations below:
• Machine Learning: Using Trial and Error, Sweet Computer
• Computer Crime Fighter: Learning from Probabilities
• Are you smarter than a computer?

Chat bots #

• Eliza: An AI simulation of a Psychotherapist. ELIZA has almost no intelligence whatsoever, only tricks like string substitution and canned responses based on keywords. Yet when the original ELIZA first appeared in the 60’s, some people actually mistook her for human. The illusion of intelligence works best, however, if you limit your conversation to talking about yourself and your life
• jabberwacky has bots that you can use for chatting at locations below. Some of these bots use video, voice and typing interfaces:
  • Jabberwacky 14.0 – Learning Artificial Intelligence – AI Software Applications
  • Cleverbot learns from real people
  • George, an Artificial Intelligence Avatar

If you want more to know more #

• Wikipedia: Turing Test
• Wikipedia: Loebner Prize
• Wikiversity: Artificial Intelligence
• What is Artificial Intelligence? A paper explaining basic concepts.
• SearchCRM.com has a Artificial Intelligence Quiz.
• Rise of the Machines. An article from 2012 on young AI innovators.
• A Turing Machine – In the Classic Style is a machine that embodies the classic look and feel of the machine presented in Turing’s paper. The heart of the turing machine is the read-write head. The read-write head transports the tape and positions cells of the tape appropriately. It can read a cell determining what, if any, symbol is written there. The machine works on, and knows about, only one cell at a time. The tape in my machine is a 1000’ roll of white 35mm film leader. The characters, ones and zeros, are written by the machine with a black dry erase marker.

Curriculum Links #

Great Principles of Computer Science #

• Automation
• Evaluation