The Real Turing Test

We've heard of the famous Turing Test -- in which Artificial Intelligence is sort of defined by the inability of a neutral observer to distinguish, via typed messages, between a computer and a machine -- well, not quite...

The actual Turing Test proposed by Alan Turing in his book "Minds and Machines" published in the 50s is a little more clever than that. Turing devised a little trick to sort of level the playing field, as it were. The observers were to discriminate between a real MAN pretending to be a woman and a MACHINE pretending to be a woman. The device of making the man pretend, Turing thought, would make the game more,... interesting. Turing, you may recall, was gay.

However, even though Turing proposed this test as a way of telling whether a computer program possessed intelligence, the test was never actually carried out in his day. Machines were far too simple then for the test to be very interesting. The test was really only a "thought experiment" intended to define a very ambiguous goal (Artificial Intelligence) in a somewhat less ambiguous way (The Test.)

Well, the art of Artificial Intelligence has grown over the years, and this spring it wa finally time to run the test -- for the first time in history -- against a particular computer program constructed just for this purpose. Someone actually set up a Real Turing Test facing off hordes of neutral observers (via the web, a tool not available to Turing) against a relatively modern woman-simulating program named ALICE and measured the results.

Read all about it here.

Draft Police

Is there any fundamental reason why local police forces cannot draft citizens to fill their ranks, as the military sometimes does?

Fried Chicken Cheese Stroganoff

(© David and Gil):

4 boned chicken thighs
2 Tbsp. bacon drippings
1 box Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner
2-5 oz. grated sharp cheddar
1/2 c. sour cream
Salt
Paprika
White Pepper, from freshly ground White Peppercorns
Cayenne, finely ground

Cut up chicken into bite-sized pieces and fry in bacon drippings.
Drain the chicken on paper towels.
Make the Kraft M&C Dinner per directions on the box.
Mix everything.
Serves two.

Copyright and Recipe Notices

Hello,

I'm new to blogging. Please pepper me with comments and suggestions so I can learn this tool quickly.

I'd like to preserve all rights to whatever I write on this blog, regardless of what might have been said in the terms and conditions, to which I probably agreed but did not read, to the fullest extent of the law, which I don't know, unless, of course, I grant you permission to the contrary on a case-by-case basis. Whether or not this statement will have any effect on your behavior or its consequences or the opinion of a judge in a court of law remains to be determined. You might consider, though, that I enjoy playing Chess with the Universe!

The recipes in this blog are also intended to be copyrighted, as is the title of a forthcoming book containing them, "Cooking with Salt." Moreover, readers should be aware that these recipes were generated in our own kitchen while staring into our own refrigerator and should be regarded as suggestions for your own creations using the contents of your kitchen and your refrigerator.

--LABear