SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/ai-turing-imitation-game
What did Alan Turing call his 1950 test of machine intelligence?
The Imitation Game. We now call it the Turing test.
- The Thinking Machine Test
- The Imitation Game ✔
- The Chinese Room
Why: In his 1950 paper, Turing proposed a game where an interrogator chats with a person and a machine and tries to tell which is which. He called it the imitation game.
Huh, didn't know that: The Chinese Room is a different thought experiment, from philosopher John Searle in 1980, arguing against the idea that passing such a test proves understanding.
I tried the Turing test on my toaster. It failed, but it did get a little warm.
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References
Answer: The Imitation Game. In his 1950 paper, Turing proposed a game where an interrogator chats with a person and a machine and tries to tell which is which. He called it the imitation game.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: The Turing Test plato.stanford.edu/entries/turing-test
the game is for the interrogator to determine which of the other two is the person, and which is the machine.
Checked 2026-10-10.
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