Feeling of Computing Computing Machinery and Intelligence by Alan Turing (feat. Felienne Hermans)
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Apr 27, 2025 
Joining the discussion is Felienne Hermans, a computer scientist renowned for her work in programming education and spreadsheet programming. They dive into Alan Turing's legacy, critiquing the outdated assumptions in his famous paper on artificial intelligence. The conversation navigates gender identity, deception in the Turing Test, and the complexities of machine intelligence versus human thought. They also challenge the simplistic definitions of intelligence, advocating for a broader understanding that goes beyond language. Hermans' insights make for a thought-provoking exploration of Turing's impact.
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Deception is Core to the Turing Test
- Turing's imitation game is based on machine deception to convince the interrogator.
- The machine's goal is to lie and pretend to be a human, which shapes modern AI understanding.
Turing’s Test as Sufficient Condition
- Passing the imitation game is treated as sufficient but not necessary for thinking by Turing.
- This weak logical link means winning the game implies thinking, but failure does not disprove it.
Theological Objection and Response
- The theological objection equates thinking to having an immortal soul, denying machines can think.
- Turing counters that God could gift a soul to a machine, undermining this objection but socially offensive.
