The Turing test is British mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing‘s suggested method for determining whether a machine is capable of demonstrating human-like intelligence or behavior.
In the test, proposed in 1950, a human evaluator engages in conversation with a human and a machine. If the evaluator can’t reliably distinguish between the two, the machine is said to have passed.
In the fictional animated short Fishbowl, CalArts student Charmaine Ang utilizes this concept to introduce the character Al, “the first robot to pass the Turing Test.”
How old is Al? What’s Al’s favorite color? Does Al have a favorite place on Earth? What’s a day in Al’s life like? And what challenges has Al faced?
Though the Turing test is still used as a benchmark for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) research, it has been criticized for its subjectivity and ambiguity, as well as its limits in determining the difference between intelligence and mimicry.
Do Al’s answers pass the Turing test?
Previously from Charmaine Ang: Nervous.
Plus, watch this next: Creature Comforts, Nick Park’s Oscar-winning short.
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