How Today’s AI Systems Compare to Alan Turing’s Original Vision: A Historical Analysis

A perspective published November 13 in Intelligent Computing, a Science Partner Journal, argues that contemporary artificial intelligence systems have finally achieved Alan Turing’s vision from over 70 years ago: machines capable of genuine experiential learning and human-like conversation. Authored by Bernardo Gonçalves of the University of São Paulo and the University of Cambridge, the paper also explores how today’s energy-intensive, transformer-based systems diverge from Turing’s prediction of machines developing intelligence naturally, akin to human children.

Gonçalves’ paper points out that transformers, the foundation of modern generative AI systems, have provided what Turing considered “adequate proof” of machine intelligence. These systems, based on “attention mechanisms” and vast-scale learning, can now perform tasks once exclusive to human intellect, such as generating coherent text, solving complex problems, and even discussing abstract ideas.

“Without resorting to preprogramming or special tricks, their intelligence grows as they learn from experience, and to ordinary people, they can appear human-like in conversation,” writes Gonçalves. “This means that they can pass the Turing test and that we are now living in one of many possible Turing futures where machines can pass for what they are not.”

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This achievement is rooted in Turing’s 1950 “imitation game” concept, where a machine attempts to imitate a human in a remote conversation, deceiving a non-expert judge. This test became a cornerstone of artificial intelligence research, with early AI pioneers John McCarthy and Claude Shannon considering it the “Turing definition of thinking” and Turing’s “strong criterion.” Popular culture also reflects Turing’s influence: the HAL-9000 computer in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey famously passed the Turing test with ease.

However, the paper underscores that Turing’s ultimate goal was not simply to create machines that could trick humans into thinking they were intelligent. Instead, he envisioned “child machines” modeled on the natural development of the human brain—systems that would grow and learn over time, ultimately becoming powerful enough to have a meaningful impact on society and the natural world.

Alan Turing was a brilliant British mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist who is widely considered to be the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence.

Turing developed the concept of the Turing machine, a theoretical model of computation that laid the foundation for modern computers. He also proposed the Turing test, a test of a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human.