Almost human: Computer finally passes 64-year-old Turing Test

For the first time in 64 years, a computer has finally cracked the Turing Test—a stringent test of a machine's ability to appear human.

 

A computer program named "Eugene Goostman" convinced enough humans that it is a 13-year-old Ukrainian boy, the UK's The Independent reported.

 

In 1950, computer science pioneer Alan Turing devised his eponymous test to determine if a computer could imitate a real human being:

 

 

For its part, Eugene seemed completely oblivious to the implications of its having passed the Turing test, answering somewhat glibly: "I feel passing the turing test in quite convenient way. Nothing original. Oooh. Anything else?"

 

"Our main idea was that he can claim that he knows anything, but his age also makes it perfectly reasonable that he doesn't know everything ... We spent a lot of time developing a character with a believable personality," said Vladimir Veselov, one of the creators of the program.

 

Under the modern Turing test, a computer must fool at least 30 percent of human interrogators in five-minute text conversations.

 

In the test organized by academics at the University of Reading, Eugene Goostman did a bit better: it managed to convince 33 percent of judges that it was human.

 

Judges at the test organized at the Royal Society on Saturday included Robert Llewellyn, who played robot Kryten in the cult classic "Red Dwarf" scifi TV series; and Lord Sharkey, who led a campaign for Alan Turing's posthumous pardon for homosexuality in 2013.

 

Try it for yourself

 

The Independent said a version of the program created in 2001 is hosted online, but it is not clear if it was the same one that passed the test.

 

It was even featured on Mashable as recently as a year ago, when it barely passed the test:

 

 

Cybercrime implications

 

Although many in the scientific community have been quick to praise Eugene's achievement, some sectors are warning this early that this could also have huge potentials for cybercrime.

 

The Independent also quoted Kevin Warwick, a visiting professor at the University of Reading and deputy vice-chancellor for research at Coventry University, as saying the program's success could raise concerns about the future of computing.

 

"Having a computer that can trick a human into thinking that someone, or even something, is a person we trust is a wake-up call to cybercrime," he said.

 

Just clever gamesmanship?

 

Meanwhile, tech site Gizmodo said mere clever gamesmanship may be more at work than artificial intelligence, at least in Eugene's case.

 

"Are there serious concerns about what this means for online security in the future? Sure. But today they'll have to take a back seat to the understanding that we've entered a new era of computing. One that's alive with possibilities, or at least convincingly enough so," it said. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News