The Turing Test

I can't bring myself to think the Turing Test is in any way sufficient. I definitely do not think if a machine passes the test that I would agree it was intelligent either, because I do not think machines are intelligent.

I think that intelligence is something that is acquired over time that can continually be built upon. Yes, a machine can be programmed to be intelligent to a point, but at that point, it does not have the opportunity to continue building upon its intelligence. If by some crazy phenomena the machine passed the test multiple times, I would still consider this to just be chance, because I will never think machines are intelligent. Intelligence is a human characteristic, and because machines do not possess humanistic qualities, I just can't agree with the test or machines ever being intelligent.

Whether or not the Turing Test is a necessary test I think depends. If I were to answer it personally, I would say no. However, if someone who finds the test to be a true test for intelligence that will determine if a machine is intelligent or not, then it might prove to be beneficial. They will need a test to prove their theory of a machine's intelligence. I definitely will not think that a machine is intelligent, so I don't think a machine has to pass the test to make me think it is intelligent. I just won't think it. People who think outside of my box need a means to test a machine's intelligence. For this reason, I think the test is necessary, but it will still never convince me.

The possibility of a machine passing the Turing Test is definite. With the amount of research being done in the field, I am sure that it will happen sooner rather than later. I think there would be a lot of kinks to be worked out to make the interrogator think the machine is human and vice versa. I think machines are very straight forward, but definitely lack the humanistic qualities. Once a machine can imitate these qualities, the test will most likely be passed.

However, I am still firm on the belief that machines will never be intelligent. A machine is programmed, and even if it is programmed to mimic human qualities, it will still be a machine.

As I mentioned earlier, I think that intelligence is something that is acquired over time that can continually be built upon over a lifetime. Yes, a machine can be programmed to be intelligent to a point, and someday it will be programmed to entail humanistic qualities. The machine has no emotion, does not have the opportunity to continue building upon its intelligence, and will never be considered intelligent to my standards.