Alan Turning: A Sad Mystery
“The original question, ‘Can machines think?’ I believe to be too meaningless to deserve
discussion. Nevertheless I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted…. The popular view that scientists proceed inexorably from well-established fact to well-established fact, never being influenced by any improved conjecture, is quite mistaken. Provided it is made clear which are proved facts and which are conjectures, no harm can result. Conjectures are of great importance since they suggest useful lines of research” (Turing, “Computing Machinery and Intelligence”)
In his thorough biography of Alan Turing, Alan Turing:The Enigma, Andrew Hodges
described the self-destruction of HAL in 2001 A Space Odyssey in the following way:“He was only aware of the conflict that was slowly destroying his integrity – the conflict between truth, and concealment of truth” (Hodges, 533). Apparently the authors of 2001, Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick had based their picture of HAL on ideas developed by Alan Turing, the brilliant British mathematician, scientist, cryptographer and philosopher who committed suicide on June 7, 1954. (Hodges, 533).
Mr. Turing had a remarkable career from the 1930’s into the early 1950’s. He studied
math initially at Cambridge, worked for a time at Princeton and spent most of World War II at Bletchley Park where he and his colleagues eventually solved the Enigma cipher used by the Germans to secure their U-boat strikes against Allied shipping lanes during the height of the European war. After the war, he returned to academic life ...
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...or of much of the early thought that has evolved into today’s computer science will
continue to affect us. It is rather daunting to envision what more he could have given us when considering the legacy of his work. Perhaps Clark and Kubrick also had Turing the man in mind when they devised what it would take to cause HAL to self-destruct
Works Cited
Hodges, Andrew. “The Alan Turing Home Page.” last updated 24 October 1998.
http://www.turing.org.uk/turing/Turing.html(February, 1999).
Hodges, Andrew. Alan Turing:The Enigma. New York:Simon and Schuster, 1983.
Hodges, Andrew. “Alan Turing:a natural philosopher.” 1997.
http://www.turing.org.uk/turing/philo/
ex6.html (February, 1999).
Turing, Alan. “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” 1950. http://www.sscf.ucsb.edu/~sung/
comm115/writing-define-computing/Computing-machinery.html (February, 1999).
Stanley Milgram’s experiment shows societies that more people with abide by the rules of an authority figure under any circumstances rather than follow their own nature instinct. With the use of his well-organized article that appeals to the general public, direct quotes and real world example, Milgram’s idea is very well-supported. The results of the experiment were in Milgram’s favor and show that people are obedient to authority figures. Stanley Milgram shows the reader how big of an impact authority figures have but fails to answer the bigger question. Which is more important, obedience or morality?
The reason I believe that the Turing test is a great test is because it not only difficult, but it allows the interrogator to think, and that is what I believe Turing looks for his test, the state of logical thought. This would prove that the machine or anything can basically think and feel. For example, If I were to be the interrogator and asked “Are you a woman?” and they both answered me “I am” I would be mentally disturbed and would have to ask new questions to find my answer, but the main point here was the fact I was mentally disturbed and that leads to emotion, which leads that if I were to figure out who was who, I would pass the test and I would have evidence that I can undoubtedly
...s work pertaining to the Doctrine of Elements. Therefore, the argument can offer grounds to the claim that computers are in fact capable of human thought, but only through different means, which can be extrapolated and reappropriated to be found compatible. 1 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)2 Star Trek: The Original Series (1968)3 Tron (1982)4 Terminator series5 Wall-E (2008)6 Runaroun, Isaac Asimov. Street and Smith Publications, Inc. 19427 In later books, a zeroth law was introduced: 0. A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm8 Artificial intelligence will be shortened to AI for the rest of the essay9 ilib10 Clark, Liat. "Google’s Artificial Brain Learns to Find Cat Videos." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 24 June 0012. Web. 03 May 2014.11 ilib12A11/B2513 B xvii14 B1815 (A11/B25)16 (A22/B39)17 A77/B10318 A78/B10419 A10320 A79/B105
Peters in Chapter six, “Machines, Animals, and Aliens,” talks about 20th century and new technology that has influence in communication. Movies, television, phones and internet. He follows the idea of analyzing how these new mediums effect the communication and gave a new form and understanding to that. Peters claims that “the chief challenge to communication in the twentieth century is contact with beings that lack mortal form” (pg 227). He talks about Rene Descartes and his idea of communication, “communication a distinctly human capacity that distinguishes us from animals and machines” (pg 231). Then Peters talks about Alan Turing, his computing machine and intelligence test, and asks question of “how can you tell a human from a fake?”(pg
The book Obedience to authority by Stanley Milgram is about a series of experiments performed by Milgram himself, on unsuspecting participants. The experiments were performed to answer the question if people had a tendency to comply with authority figures. Milgram drew inspiration from Adolf Eichmann’s trial, to create a study to explain the actions of the Nazis. As quoted “The point of the experiment is to see how far a person will proceed in a concrete and measurable situation in which he is ordered to inflict increasing pain on a protesting victim.” (pg. 5) The experiment involved a learner, whom was strapped to a chair and connected with electrodes, an experimenter who lead and gave instructions about the experiment and a teacher whom asked
...tter human rights in France. Additionally, due to the Napoleonic Wars, the revolution redefined the borders of Europe.
The French Revolution was a period of political upheaval that occurred in France during the latter half of the 18th century. This revolution marked an end to the system of feudalism and the monarchy in France and a rise to democracy and new Enlightenment ideas. By 1789, when the revolution began, France was in a deep financial crisis due to the debt they had obtained over many years of reckless spending and France was nearly bankrupt. These financial issues fell almost completely on the bottom social class or the Third Estate which made up a majority of the country. Because of this financial trouble the common people were heavily taxed leaving many of them in poverty. In addition to the economic issues, France also held an Estate System that led to heavy
Ordinary people are willing to go against their own decision of right and wrong to fulfill the request of an authoritative figure, even at the expense of their own moral judgment and sense of what is right and wrong. Using a variety of online resources including The Perils of Obedience by Stanley Milgram this paper attempts to prove this claim.
France was a nation ruled by an absolute monarch who had power beyond the grasp of any peasant, and just out of the reach of the aristocracy. King Louis XIV (1774 - 1791) of France was not willing to give up his monopoly that had existed for seventeen years. It was the perfect situation for his absolute government, and may have remained that way if he had been able to manage France’s finances successfully. More money had been spent on roads' canals and wars then were being collected through taxes. In addition the government lost control over the bourgeois class. The bourgeois (working class merchants) gained control by using the disorganized peasant class, members of the Third Estate, who presented their grievances in cahiers to the Estates General. The disbanding of the Estates General resulted in the formation of the new National Assembly governed by the Third Estate. This assembly wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens that described political changes and freedoms for the Third Estate. The constitution of 1791 also resulted in dramatic changes to the political structure. It, however, did not bring relief to those who most deserved it, the peasants. These events were the prologue to the French Revolution, the most important event in France’s history. The French Revolution was a direct result of overspending by King Louis XIV and Louis XVI, leaving France a financially unstable nation and ultimately resulting in a revolt by the Third Estate upset by the dwindling social and economic conditions.
If a machine passes the test, then it is clear that for many ordinary people it would be a sufficient reason to say that that is a thinking machine. And, in fact, since it is able to conversate with a human and to actually fool him and convince him that the machine is human, this would seem t...
Since the publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species in 1859, there has been a continuous debate in the United States regarding evolution and creation. Recently, this debate has intensified throughout America over the issue of whether or not to include creationism in the public school curriculum either in conjunction with evolution or as a replacement for the theory. With such a volatile subject being argued, there are other issues that are brought up at the same time. I find these side issues to the evolution/creation debate to be very perplexing. The many differing viewpoints that my friends, family, and the American public in general believe are incredibly interesting. There are varying strict “either/or” views, and views that combine evolution and the Bible’s story of creationism. There are diverse ideas where evolution and science can coexist with the Bible, and different commitment and intensity levels to these beliefs. The knowledge and familiarity, or lack thereof, that people have with both evolution and creationism is intriguing as well. The most interesting of these questions is the key motivation behind people’s opinions; are they were religiously based or is there something else?
Alan Turing was a computer scientist and a pioneer in computer science. Turing, along with Alonzo Church, developed a central hypothesis of binary computing machinery applicability. During World War II, he developed a machine that helped break the German Enigma code. He also laid the groundwork for modern computing and theorized about artificial intelligence. However, until recently, it was not well-known that Turing committed suicide.
The most concrete results of the French Revolution were probably achieved in 1789-91, when land was freed from customary burdens and the old corporate society was destroyed. The great reforms of 1789-91 nevertheless established an enduring administrative and legal system, and much of the revolutionaries' work in humanizing the law itself was subsequently incorporated in the Napoleonic Code. Politically, the revolution was more significant than successful. Since 1789 the French government has been either parliamentary and constitutional or based on the plebiscitary system that Napoleon inherited and developed. The Revolution nevertheless freed the state from the trammels of its medieval past, releasing such unprecedented power that the revolutionaries could defy, and Napoleon conquer, the rest of Europe. Moreover, that power acknowledged no restraint: in 1793 unity was imposed on the nation by the Terror. Europe and the world have ever since been learning what infringements of liberty can issue from the concepts of national sovereignty and the will of the people.
After asking his wife if she understands what she has done Nora answers “[Looking squarely at him, her face hardening] Yes. I am beginning to understand everything” (835). This statement might be the key phrase of Nora’s realization. The double- meaning implies Nora’s understanding of the actual situation as well as her awareness that her marriage, even though it conforms with social expectations, is far from perfect. She now doubts the depth of her love for Torvald and becomes calm with comprehension as she begins to recognize the truth about her marriage. While she expects compassion for her sacrifice, she is none given. Instead of sacrificing anything to help Nora out of her predicament, Torvald is only worried about himself and appearances. It becomes very clear, after the second letter from Krogstad arrives, that her well-being always comes second “I’m saved. Nora, I’m saved! You too, of course” (836). Throughout the conversation with Torvald, Nora finally realizes, she needs to rearrange her life and priorities to be happy. This implies independence and self-awareness. While Nora finally understands the situation, she is in and what she needs to do but Torvald defines her new attitudes as madness “You’re ill, Nora; you’re feverish; I almost think you’re out of your mind” (840). “However, the characterization has been tied to the fact that she is breaking taboos or challenging conventions” (Langås 160). Torvald is still stuck in his fantasy world of how a wife should talk and act per his standard and the society he stands for. “Nora still has no way of knowing that she is not endangering her children with her presence and in the end, she feels impelled to leave, and her decision is less an act of defiance against her husband and society than an attempt to save the lives of her children” (Brooks
His efforts went unacknowledged; his invention of the computer wasn’t celebrated until someone else took credit for it; he never got the respect he deserved. The Imitation game is basically an arena of social conflict as well as social change when looking at sexuality, deviance, even gender. Just remember this movie was based on a true story. Alan Turing is a war hero that saved lives, simply due to the fact that the British government thought it was morally wrong that a man could ever love another man he died. Rest in peace, Mr. Turing who shall forever be celebrated. The movie was heart moving. Undeniably the best feature film I have seen that depicts the biography of Alan Turing perfectly, though this is just a matter of