I feel there are many errors with Turing's theory on testing the intelligence of a computer. Simply
because an item can fool a human through conversation does not make that item intelligent; it
means that an intelligent being (human) programmed the device to act a particular way. To me,
preprogrammed responses do not equal intelligence, as there will always be a question, phrase,
or even wording that confuses the computer while humans understand how to ask clarifying
questions to provide an intelligent response.
Humans, once taught, can think, process, and resolve an issue, like how a computer needs to be
programmed to process problems; this is how our thinking is similar to machines. Human
thinking is different from a machine's because to get the correct response from a computer the
information input needs to be perfect where humans can receive even incomplete information
and still provide an accurate answer. As stated by Lance Whitney in the article Are Computers
Already Smarter Than Humans? - "We perform tasks, make decisions, and solve problems based
not just on our intelligence but on our massively parallel processing wetware - in abstract, what
we like to call our instincts, our common sense, and perhaps most importantly, our life
experiences." For example, when I took statistics if the data entered into Excel was incorrect in
any way, the system errored out whereas, humans have the intelligence to think through an error
or ask questions to correct the issue. The one benefit computers have over humans is endless and
immediate memory, compared to people who cannot retain every memory and tend to have
problems recalling things, particularly as they age.
While I am not a fan of saying anything is impossible, it is hard to comprehend that a computer
may one day think or be as intelligent as a human. I look at it this way humans or continually
evolving, learning more, and becoming more intelligent; as a direct result, computers are doing
the same. Though it leads me to believe that computers will never surpass human intelligence;
because we would not have the ability to build something with greater intelligence than
ourselves.
Human intelligence has learned to feel, understand, and respond to the emotions of both others
and ourselves giving us emotional intelligence. While I believe emotional intelligence is
continually being developed and refined by our species, it is something that artificial intelligence
is unable to obtain. Due to the lack of emotion and feeling linked to artificial intelligence,
machines lack emotional intelligence completely.
References:
Whitney, L., 2017. Are Computers Already Smarter Than Humans?. Time. Available at:
https://time.com/4960778/computers-smarter-than-humans/ (Accessed 17 May 2023).
Gendler, Alex. "The Turing test: Can a computer pass for a human?." TEDEd.
https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-turing-test-can-a-computer-pass-for-a-human-alex-gender#review
(Accessed 17 May 2023).
