Can Machines Think?

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Questions and Answers

What is the Turing Test?

A test to determine if a machine can predict future states

A test to determine if a machine can mimic human actions (correct)

A test to determine if a machine can think

A test to determine if a machine can move by sudden jumps

What are the three conditions for defining 'thinking machines'?

They must be able to do anything a human can, use any engineering technique, and include men born in the usual manner

They must be able to do anything a human can, use any engineering technique, and exclude men born in the usual manner (correct)

They must be able to do anything a human can, have an unlimited store, and exclude men born in the usual manner

They must be able to use any engineering technique, exclude men born in the usual manner, and have an unlimited store

What are the three parts of a digital computer?

A store, a random element, and a control unit

A store, an executive unit, and a random element

A store, an executive unit, and a control unit (correct)

An executive unit, a control unit, and an unlimited store

What is the Analytical Engine?

A mechanical digital computer planned by Charles Babbage Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of instructions in digital computers?

To allow a sequence of operations to be repeated until a condition is fulfilled Signup and view all the answers

What is the prediction made by Turing about computers in fifty years?

Computers will be able to play the imitation game so well that an average interrogator will not have more than a 70% chance of making the right identification after five minutes of questioning Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between physical and intellectual capacities according to the Turing Test?

The Turing Test does not draw a sharp line between physical and intellectual capacities Signup and view all the answers

What is the Turing Test?

A game involving a man, a woman, and an interrogator Signup and view all the answers

What are the three conditions for defining 'thinking machines'?

They must be able to do anything a human can, use any engineering technique, and exclude men born in the usual manner. Signup and view all the answers

What are the three parts of a digital computer?

A store, an executive unit, and a control unit Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of instructions in digital computers?

To allow a sequence of operations to be repeated until a condition is fulfilled Signup and view all the answers

What did Charles Babbage plan to create?

A mechanical digital computer called the Analytical Engine Signup and view all the answers

What is the predicted storage capacity of computers that can play the imitation game well?

10^9 Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between physical and intellectual capacities according to the Turing Test?

The Turing Test draws a sharp line between physical and intellectual capacities Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Can Machines Think? - Summary of "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" by Alan Turing

Alan Turing proposes to consider the question "Can machines think?" by replacing it with the Turing Test, also known as the imitation game.
The imitation game involves three people: a man, a woman, and an interrogator who must determine which is which by asking questions.
The goal of the game is to help the interrogator, and if a machine can play the game satisfactorily, it can be considered capable of thinking.
The Turing Test draws a sharp line between physical and intellectual capacities and can be used to introduce any field of human endeavor.
There are three conditions for defining "thinking machines": they must be able to do anything a human can, use any engineering technique, and exclude men born in the usual manner.
Turing abandons the requirement for every engineering technique to be permitted and focuses on digital computers, which can mimic the actions of a human computer closely.
Digital computers consist of three parts: a store, an executive unit, and a control unit, and their control is constructed to obey instructions correctly and in the right order.
Instructions allow a sequence of operations to be repeated until a condition is fulfilled, and digital computers can have a random element or an unlimited store.
Charles Babbage planned a mechanical digital computer called the Analytical Engine, which was never completed.
Digital computers move by sudden jumps or clicks from one state to another, and given the initial state and input signals, it is possible to predict all future states.
Digital computers can mimic any discrete-state machine, making them equivalent in a sense.
Turing predicts that in about fifty years, computers with a storage capacity of 10^9 will be able to play the imitation game so well that an average interrogator will not have more than a 70% chance of making the right identification after five minutes of questioning.

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Description

Think you know about the "Can Machines Think?" debate? Test your knowledge with this quiz summarizing Alan Turing's "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" paper. From the Turing Test to the inner workings of digital computers, this quiz covers the key concepts in Turing's groundbreaking work. Keywords: machines, thinking, Turing Test, digital computers, Analytical Engine.