Turing, Searle, and Artificial Intelligence
The conditions of the present scenario are as follows: a machine, Siri*, capable of passing the
Turing test, is being insulted by a 10 year old boy, whose mother is questioning the appropriateness
of punishing him for his behavior. We cannot answer the mother s question without speculating as
to what A.M. Turing and John Searle, two 20th century philosophers whose views on artificial
intelligence are starkly contrasting, would say about this predicament. Furthermore, we must
provide fair and balanced consideration for both theorists viewpoints because, ultimately, neither
side can be correct in this scenario. But before we compare hypothetical opinions, we must
establish operant definitions for all parties involved. The characters in... Show more content on
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The answer is no because we cannot accurately determine, from the given information, whether
Siri* understands what she is saying on a deep, emotional level, one requirement for personhood
that both Turing and Searle deem necessary (Searle; Turing). We have no method of measuring
Siri* s level of understanding outside of the Turing test, which Searle rejects as an accurate
measurement of linguistic understanding. And again, he also rejects the idea that any electronic
machine can possess such understanding whatsoever, so Siri* s response is essentially
meaningless. Part D: Answering to Amy In response to Amy s initial question, it would be
unwise to immediately present either Turing s or Searle s answer as a correct response.
Similarly, it would be unwise to declare a winning philosophy in this scenario, as the correct
philosophy depends on the correct judging criteria, which we lack. Clearly, if Siri* is a person, or
judged to be a person based on certain criteria, then Turing is correct in his assessment; Amy
should punish her child. If Siri* is not a person, then Searle is correct, and Amy would not have
significant reason for punishment. But in this scenario, no judgment criteria are explicitly being
applied, nor is one school of thought clearly more appropriate than the other. Therefore, our only
hope of declaring which of the two theories is correct in this scenario, thereby correctly answering
Amy s initial question, is to hypothesize judging
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