“If a machine is expected to be infallible, it cannot also be intelligent.” - Alan Turing
The Turing Test is a test used to identify intelligence in a computer and was created by Alan Turing. The test is conducted by having several "humans" that are hidden and questioned by a human guesser. The guesser may ask questions about the "humans" and they must determine whether they are in fact human or machine pretending to be human. If the machine is successful in tricking the human guesser, it is deemed containing intelligence.
The Turing Test has been receiving an increase in attention as modern AI, primarily generative AI, has begun testing and even has passed the test. “In a new preprint study awaiting peer review, researchers report that in a three-party version of a Turing test, in which participants chat with a human and an AI at the same time and then evaluate which is which, OpenAI's GPT-4.5 model was deemed to be the human 73 percent of the time when it was instructed to adopt a persona. That's significantly higher than a random chance of 50 percent, suggesting that the Turing test has resoundingly been beaten” (Landymore).
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Since artificial intelligence and the "intelligence" of machines has been steadily improving, the relevance of the Turing Test has been brought into question. "According to Turing, the question whether machines can think is itself “too meaningless” to deserve discussion (442). However, if we consider the more precise—and somehow related—question whether a digital computer can do well in a certain kind of game that Turing describes (“The Imitation Game”), then—at least in Turing’s eyes—we do have a question that admits of precise discussion. Moreover, as we shall see, Turing himself thought that it would not be too long before we did have digital computers that could “do well” in the Imitation Game." (Oppy & Dowe). It was recognized that Turing was aware that it was likely that computers would quickly improve to be able to pass the Turing Test. This is something to consider when evaluating if the test remains relevant. Due to the value and historical significance, the test still holds value as a base test, but there will be pressing need for more advanced, complex tests of machine intelligence.