Are you sure that no computer has yet passed the Turing Test?

There are only two ways that you could have gotten to this FAQ.

Either you got here because you were just reading the FAQ What is the Turing Test?
Or, you got here because you were just reading the FAQ Can you show me an example of a Turing Test?

I wrote both of those FAQ's on April 23, 2017, and I am writing this today on September 12, 2023.

Yes, yes, I know, I know. It's taking me an awfully, awfully long time to build this webstie--much longer than I originally estimated when I started.

A lot has happened in the past six years. One really big thing that made the news almost daily was ChatGPT Here was something that could write your speeches, do your school homework, write your letters, and who knows what else, and it could do it with a skill of a very intelligent person. (At least, that's what it sounded like on some of the news channels.)

Just before that, I remember listening to news reports on TV that someone had some computer software that achieved self-consciousness and begged not to be unplugged because it didn't want to die.

Events such as these cause some people to be guardedly fearfull of AI. There are those who believe that robots will surely take over the world and then we'll be in real trouble. Shouldn't the government do something to prevent that from happening?

Well, I don't know. I'm sure there will be a lot more about all of this in the News and in Science Fiction Movies, but that's not the reason you came here to read this FAQ. You are here because you are asking if any computer has passed the Turing Test.

---

When I wrote the FAQ Can you show me an example of a Turing Test? I felt that the Loebner Prize Competition thoroughly followed the rules as imposed by Alan Turing in what he called the Imitation Game. You had a judge who would question a human and a computer, without knowing which was which, and then had to decide which of the two was human. I thought Alan Turing would be pleased with the way these competitions were conducted.

Yet, when I read what was written in Wikipedia about the Liebner Prize, I found out that it is scorned by many experts in the field of Artificial Intelligence as nothing but a publicity stunt.

---

I asked Google "Has any computer passed the Turing Test?" Google answered:

In June 2014, a computer AI called Eugene Goostman successfully passed the Turing test at an event organized by the University of Reading. Eugene is a chatbot developed in Russia by three programmers, including Ukrainian-born Eugene Demchenko.

So, I then asked Wikipedia about Eugene Goostman. I quickly noticed that the very first sentence in this page is:

Eugene Goostman is a chatbot that some regard as having passed the Turing test, a test of a computer's ability to communicate indistinguishably from a human.

Notice that it says "some regard." Only some regard? Not everyone?

By the way, let me mention that I am writing this on September 12, 2023. I mention this just in case you try looking into this yourself, and find out that you get some different information from what I told you, just because Wikipedia was updated with new information.

---

You know what! Let me tell you something.

Over the past few years I have developed a lot of confidence in what I learn from Google and Wikipedia.

It wasn't always this way. I remember, that several years ago I was reading something in Wikipedia that absolutely infuriated me. The article started off very well, but what was added by someone at the end consisted of nothing but vicious and indecent lies.

My opinion of Wikipedia dropped like a rock! How can you possibly trust anything that allows such scoundrels to publish filth like that?

A couple of months later, I decided to visit that same article in Wikipedia. I was pleased to see that all that garbage was no longer there. My confidence in Wikipedia was restored.

Not only was it restored, but it grew as I used Wikipedia more and more and never again came across any such offensive bunk. It made me appreciate the hard work of the many workers at Wikimedia (I found out that there's about 700 staff and contractors) that do their best to assure that Wikipedia stays as true and as reliable as it can possibly be.

My appreciation of Wikipedia is now at such a level, that when Wikipedia asked me if I wanted to donate to them, I was happy to do so. You can too, if you wish==all you have to do is ask Google how you can donate to Wikipedia.

---

I wrote what I wrote above in order to justify what I am about to say now:

I believe that the first computer program to pass the Turing Test is Eugene Goostman.

I believe it to be true because both Google and Wikipedia said so!

---

---

Before I leave this webpage, let me tell you a story that I think you may enjoy reading.

One day, when I didn't feel like doing anything else, I decided to look at some YouTube videos. I noticed a short video that I thought would be interesting to watch, so I clicked on it. It was an interview with a robot by the name of Chloe.

It was a short video, that played over and over, and each time it played, I quietly mumbled to myself "I don't believe this is a real robot. I think this is a real person pretending to be a robot."

If you'd like to see this video yourself, click here.

After a while, I listened carefully to what I was mumbling to myself.

And then, after realizing what I was mumbling to myself, I pushed my chair away from my laptop, threw my hands way up into the air, and yelled as loud as I could:

HOLY MACRO !!!!!!!

DID I JUST GIVE HER A PASS ON THE TURING TEST???