ags@pucc-i (Seaman) (07/11/84)
The Turing Test is carried out in two distinct phases. Phase 1 does not involve a computer. The participants in phase 1 are a man (A), a woman (B), and an interrogator (C), who may be of either sex. The interrogator cannot see or hear the other two players and knows them only as X and Y. His objective is to identify them, either "X is A and Y is B" or "X is B and Y is A". Communication may be by a terminal, by written messages, or by an intermediary. C directs questions to X and Y, and the appropriate person must answer. A (the man) attempts to deceive C into making the wrong identification. B (the woman) attempts to help C make the correct identification. A sample exchange, provided by Turing: C: Will X please tell me the length of his or her hair? (supposing A is X, A answers deceptively:) A. My hair is shingled, and the longest strands are about nine inches long. B's best strategy is probably to be truthful. She can add extraneous remarks such as "I am the woman. Don't listen to him." This will not help, since the man can do likewise. This is what Turing calls the "imitation game." Phase 2 of the test involves playing the imitation game with a machine in the part of A instead of the man. The question is simply: can the machine perform as well at the imitation game as the man can? Turing's position is that such a machine is able to think. -- Dave Seaman "My hovercraft is full of eels." ..!pur-ee!pucc-i:ags