“Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” \n? Alan Turing “We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.” \n? Alan Turing, Computing machinery and intelligence “I'm afraid that the following syllogism may be used by some in the future. \nTuring believes machines think \nTuring lies with men \nTherefore machines do not think \nYours in distress, Alan” \n? Alan Turing “I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted.” \n? Alan Turing, Computing machinery and intelligence “Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.” \n? Alan Turing “Those who can imagine anything, can create the impossible.” \? Alan Turing “If a machine is expected to be infallible, it cannot also be intelligent.” \n? Alan Turing “The original question, 'Can machines think?' I believe to be too meaningless to deserve discussion.” \n? Alan Turing, Mechanical Intelligence: Collected Works of A.M. Turing “I am not very impressed with theological arguments whatever they may be used to support. Such arguments have often been found unsatisfactory in the past. In the time of Galileo it was argued that the texts, 'And the sun stood still... and hasted not to go down about a whole day' (Joshua x. 13) and 'He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not move at any time' (Psalm cv. 5) were an adequate refutation of the Copernican theory.” \n? Alan Turing, Computing machinery and intelligence “It seems probable that once the machine thinking method had started, it would not take long to outstrip our feeble powers… They would be able to converse with each other to sharpen their wits. At some stage therefore, we should have to expect the machines to take control.” \n? Alan Turing “A very large part of space-time must be investigated, if reliable results are to be obtained.” \n? Alan Turing “The isolated man does not develop any intellectual power. It is necessary for him to be immersed in an environment of other men, whose techniques he absorbs during the first twenty years of his life. He may then perhaps do a little research of his own and make a very few discoveries which are passed on to other men. From this point of view the search for new techniques must be regarded as carried out by the human community as a whole, rather than by individuals.” \n? Alan Turing “Finding such a person makes everyone else appear so ordinary…and if anything happens to him, you’ve got nothing left but to return to the ordinary world, and a kind of isolation that never existed before.” \n? Alan Turing “Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine” \n? Alan Turing “I've now got myself into the kind of trouble that I have always considered to be quite a possibility for me, though I have usually rated it at about 10:1 against. I shall shortly be pleading guilty to a charge of sexual offences with a young man. The story of how it all came to be found out is a long and fascinating one, which I shall have to make into a short story one day, but haven't the time to tell you now. No doubt I shall emerge from it all a different man, but quite who I've not found out.” \n? Alan Turing “Pidän ihmistä vaaleanpunaisena aistidatan kokoelmana.” \n? Alan Turing “Let us return for a moment to Lady Lovelace’s objection, which stated that the machine can only do what we tell it to do. \nOne could say that a man can “inject” an idea into the machine, and that it will respond to a certain extent and then drop into quiescence, like a piano string struck by a hammer. Another simile would be an atomic pile of less than critical size: an injected idea is to correspond to a neutron entering the pile from without. \nEach such neutron will cause a certain disturbance which eventually dies away. If, however, the size of the pile is sufficiently increased, the disturbance caused by such an incoming neutron will very likely go on and on increasing until the whole pile is destroyed. Is there a corresponding phenomenon for minds, and is there one for machines? There does seem to be one for the human mind. \nThe majority of them seem to be “sub-critical,” i.e. to correspond in this analogy to piles of sub-critical size. An idea presented to such a mind will on average give rise to less than one idea in reply. A smallish proportion are supercritical. An idea presented to such a mind may give rise to a whole “theory” consisting of secondary, tertiary and more remote ideas. \nAnimals’ minds seem to be very definitely sub-critical. Adhering to this analogy we ask, “Can a machine be made to be super-critical?” \n? Alan Turing, Computing machinery and intelligence “Let us return for a moment to Lady Lovelace’s objection, which stated that the machine can only do what we tell it to do. One could say that a man can "inject" an idea into the machine, and that it will respond to a certain extent and then drop into quiescence, like a piano string struck by a hammer. Another simile would be an atomic pile of less than critical size: an injected idea is to correspond to a neutron entering the pile from without. Each such neutron will cause a certain disturbance which eventually dies away. If, however, the size of the pile is sufficiently increased, the disturbance caused by such an incoming neutron will very likely go on and on increasing until the whole pile is destroyed. Is there a corresponding phenomenon for minds, and is there one for machines? There does seem to be one for the human mind. The majority of them seem to be "sub critical," i.e. to correspond in this analogy to piles of sub-critical size. An idea presented to such a mind will on average give rise to less than one idea in reply. A smallish proportion are supercritical. An idea presented to such a mind may give rise to a whole "theory" consisting of secondary, tertiary and more remote ideas. Animals’ minds seem to be very definitely sub-critical. Adhering to this analogy we ask, "Can a machine be made to be super-critical?” \n? Alan Turing, Computing machinery and intelligence “O corpo fornece alguma coisa para o espírito cuidar e usar.” \n? Alan Turing “The popular view that scientists proceed inexorably from well-established fact to well-established fact, never being influenced by any unproved conjecture, is quite mistaken. Provided it is made clear which are proved facts and which are conjectures, no harm can result. Conjectures are of great importance since they suggest useful lines of research.” \n? Alan Turing, Alan Turing: The Enigma “[...] Ritardo ce ne sarà per forza, a causa di intoppi praticamente inevitabili, perché fino a un certo punto è meglio lasciare che ci siano intoppi piuttosto che spendere tempo sul progetto per essere sicuri che non ce ne siano (chissà quanti anni occorrerebbero per questa strada).” \n? Alan Turing, Mechanical Intelligence: Collected Works of A.M. Turing “Potremmo anche immaginare una macchina calcolatrice che viene fatta lavorare con una memoria basata sui libri. Non sarebbe molto facile, ma immensamente preferibile a un singolo lungo nastro. Per pura ipotesi supponiamo che le difficoltà implicite nell'uso di libri come memoria siano superate, cioè che si riesca a sviluppare gli artifici meccanici necessari per trovare il libro giusto, aprirlo alla pagina giusta e così via, imitando l'azione delle mani e degli occhi umani. Non si può girare una pagina molto velocemente senza strapparla, e se gli spostamenti dovessero essere numerosi e veloci, l'energia richiesta sarebbe molto grande. Se muovessimo un libro ogni millisecondo e ciascuno fosse mosso di dieci metri e pesasse 200 grammi, e se ogni volta l'energia cinetica fosse dispersa senza recupero, dovremmo consumare 10^10 watt, pari a circa la metà del consumo di energia della nazione. Per avere una macchina davvero veloce, allora, dobbiamo tenere la nostra informazione, o almeno una parte di questa, in una forma più accessibile di quella che può essere ottenuta con i libri. Sembra che questo risultato possa essere ottenuto solo al prezzo di sacrificare compattezza d economia, cioè tagliando le pagine dal libro e presentando ciascuna a un meccanismo di lettura separato. Alcuni dei metodi di memorizzazione che sono sviluppati ai giorni nostri non si allontanano molto da questo modello.” \n? Alan Turing, Mechanical Intelligence: Collected Works of A.M. Turing “Infine vorrei avanzare qualche congettura sulle ripercussioni che le macchine calcolatrici elettroniche digitali avranno sulla matematica. Ho già accennato al fatto che l'ACE svolgerà il lavoro di circa diecimila calcolatori umani; c'è da aspettarsi dunque che il calcolo manuale su larga scala scomparirà.” \n? Alan Turing, Mechanical Intelligence: Collected Works of A.M. Turing “La opinión tan generalizada de que los científicos proceden siempre de un hecho bien demostrado a otro hecho bien demostrado, y nunca se dejan influir por una conjetura no probada, es bastante errónea. A condición de que quede bien claro qué son hechos probados y qué son conjeturas, no existe ningún peligro. Las conjeturas son de suma importancia, porque sugieren posibles vías de investigación.” \n? Alan Turing, Computing machinery and intelligence “[...] Queste difficoltà possono essere risolte nel modo migliore facendo buon viso a cattivo gioco. I ritardi possono essere tollerati accettandoli ed elaborando una scansione temporale che li preveda. Si può poi tollerare una certa imprecisione nella risposta pensando in termini di <>. Così invece di dire: <>, noi diremo: <>. Le varie classi devono essere del tutto distinte e ben lontane dal sovrapporsi, cioé - topologicamente parlando - potremmo dire che devono avere tra loro una distanza finita. Con una decisione del genere avremo introdotto una ben definita divisione del lavoro tra il matematico e l'ingegnere, che permetterà a ognuno dei due di andare avanti senza preoccuparsi se le sue assunzioni siano in accordo con quelle dell'altro.” \n? Alan Turing, Mechanical Intelligence: Collected Works of A.M. Turing “Do you know why people like violence? It is because it feels good. Humans find violence deeply satisfying. But remove the satisfaction, and the act becomes hollow.” \n? Alan Turing Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no-one can imagine \nAlan Turing Do you know why people like violence? It is because it feels good. Humans find violence deeply satisfying. But remove the satisfaction, and the act becomes hollow. \nAlan Turing Mathematical reasoning may be regarded... \nAlan Turing One day ladies will take their computers for walks in the park and tell each other, "My little computer said such a funny thing this morning". \nAlan Turing We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done. \nAlan Turing Programming is a skill best acquired by practice and example rather than from books. \nAlan Turing A computer would deserve to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human. \nAlan Turing A man provided with paper, pencil, and rubber, and subject to strict discipline, is in effect a universal machine. \nAlan Turing If a machine is expected to be infallible, it cannot also be intelligent. \nAlan Turing Science is a differential equation. Religion is a boundary condition. \nAlan Turing No, I'm not interested in developing a powerful brain... \nAlan Turing Codes are a puzzle. A game, just like any other game. \nAlan Turing There is, however, one feature that I would like to suggest should be incorporated in the machines, and that is a 'random element.' Each machine should be supplied with a tape bearing a random series of figures, e.g., 0 and 1 in equal quantities, and this series of figures should be used in the choices made by the machine. This would result in the behaviour of the machine not being by any means completely determined by the experiences to which it was subjected, and would have some valuable uses when one was experimenting with it. \nAlan Turing We may hope that machines will eventually compete with men in all purely intellectual fields. \nAlan Turing It seems probable that once the machine thinking method had started, it would not take long to outstrip our feeble powers… They would be able to converse with each other to sharpen their wits. At some stage therefore, we should have to expect the machines to take control. \nAlan Turing The original question, 'Can machines think?' I believe to be too meaningless to deserve discussion. \nAlan Turing Instead of trying to produce a programme to simulate the adult mind, why not rather try to produce one which simulates the child's? If this were then subjected to an appropriate course of education one would obtain the adult brain. \nAlan Turing The idea behind digital computers may be explained by saying that these machines are intended to carry out any operations which could be done by a human computer. \nAlan Turing Mathematical reasoning may be regarded rather schematically as the exercise of a combination of two facilities, which we may call intuition and ingenuity. The activity of the intuition consists in making spontaneous judgements which are not the result of conscious trains of reasoning... The exercise of ingenuity in mathematics consists in aiding the intuition through suitable arrangements of propositions, and perhaps geometrical figures or drawings. \nAlan Turing We are not interested in the fact that the brain has the consistency of cold porridge. \nAlan Turing Unless in communicating with it one says exactly what one means, trouble is bound to result. \nAlan Turing No, I'm not interested in developing a powerful brain. All I'm after is just a mediocre brain, something like the President of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. \nAlan Turing When we want to sink a convoy, we send out an observation plane first... Of course, to observe is not its real duty, we already know exactly where the convoy is. Its real duty is to be observed...Then, when we come round and sink them, the Germans will not find it suspicious. \nAlan Turing My little computer said such a funny thing this morning. \nAlan Turing Machines take me by surprise with great frequency. \nAlan Turing I am not very impressed with theological arguments whatever they may be used to support. Such arguments have often been found unsatisfactory in the past. In the time of Galileo it was argued that the texts, "And the sun stood still... and hasted not to go down about a whole day" (Joshua x. 13) and "He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not move at any time" (Psalm cv. 5) were an adequate refutation of the Copernican theory. \nAlan Turing Instruction tables will have to be made up by mathematicians with computing experience and perhaps a certain puzzle-solving ability. There need be no real danger of it ever becoming a drudge, for any processes that are quite mechanical may be turned over to the machine itself. \nAlan Turing He was particularly fond of little programming tricks (some people would say that he was too fond of them to be a "good" programmer) and would chuckle with boyish good humor at any little tricks I may have used. \nAlan Turing Although a mathematician, Turing took quite an interest in the engineering side of computer design. There was some discussion in 1947 as to whether a cheaper substance than mercury could not be found for use as an ultrasonic delay medium. Turing's contribution to this discussion was to advocate the use of gin, which he said contained alcohol and water in just the right proportions to give a zero temperature coefficient of propagation velocity at room temperature. \nAlan Turing The idea behind digital computers may be explained by saying that these machines are intended to carry out any operations which could be done by a human computer. \nAlan Turing A man provided with paper, pencil, and rubber, and subject to strict discipline, is in effect a universal machine. \nAlan Turing The Exclusion Principle is laid down purely for the benefit of the electrons themselves, who might be corrupted (and become dragons or demons) if allowed to associate too freely. \nAlan Turing Science is a differential equation. Religion is a boundary condition. \nAlan Turing Mathematical reasoning may be regarded rather schematically as the exercise of a combination of two facilities, which we may call intuition and ingenuity. The activity of the intuition consists in making spontaneous judgements which are not the result of conscious trains of reasoning... The exercise of ingenuity in mathematics consists in aiding the intuition through suitable arrangements of propositions, and perhaps geometrical figures or drawings. \nAlan Turing I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted. \nAlan Turing Turing had a strong predeliction for working things out from first principles, usually in the first instance without consulting any previous work on the subject, and no doubt it was this habit which gave his work that characteristically original flavor. I was reminded of a remark which Beethoven is reputed to have made when he was asked if he had heard a certain work of Mozart which was attracting much attention. He replied that he had not, and added "neither shall I do so, lest I forfeit some of my own originality." \nAlan Turing His high-pitched voice already stood out above the general murmur of well-behaved junior executives grooming themselves for promotion within the Bell corporation. Then he was suddenly heard to say: "No, I'm not interested in developing a powerful brain. All I'm after is just a mediocre brain, something like the President of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company." \nAlan Turing An Underdog At Heart (From The Imitation Game): \n“Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” – Alan Turing On Ignorant Human Thinking: \n“I’m afraid that the following syllogism may be used by some in the future. Turing believes machines think. Turing lies with men. Therefore machines do not think. Yours in distress, Alan” – Alan Turing Solution Orientated: \n“We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.” – Alan Turing “No, I’m not interested in developing a powerful brain. All I’m after is just a mediocre brain, something like the President of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.” – Alan Turing A Hopeful Catalyst Of The Future: \n“It seems probable that once the machine thinking method had started, it would not take long to outstrip our feeble powers. They would be able to converse with each other to sharpen their wits. At some stage therefore, we should have to expect the machines to take control.” – Alan Turing His 1950 Definition Of The Turing Test: \n“A computer would deserve to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human.” – Alan Turing “I like solving problems, Commander. And Enigma is the most difficult problem in the world.” – Alan Turing The Pioneer Of The Computer: \n“Machines take me by surprise with great frequency.” – Alan Turing We All Think Differently: \n“Of course machines can’t think as people do. A machine is different from a person. Hence, they think differently. The interesting question is, just because something, uh… thinks differently from you, does that mean it’s not thinking? Well, we allow for humans to have such divergences from one another. You like strawberries, I hate ice-skating, you cry at sad films, I am allergic to pollen. What is the point of… different tastes, different… preferences, if not, to say that our brains work differently, that we think differently? And if we can say that about one another, then why can’t we say the same thing for brains… built of copper and wire, steel?” – Alan Turing The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis: \n“Big yet unfamiliar, think bigger than the biggest bar. Think big; that’s only half as large. Bigger, better, twice as hard.” – Alan Turing Interpreting Violence: \n“Do you know why people like violence? It is because it feels good. Humans find violence deeply satisfying. But remove the satisfaction, and the act becomes hollow.” – Alan Turing The Father Of Computer Science: \n“Codes are a puzzle. A game, just like any other game.” – Alan Turing A Limitless Thinker: \n“We may hope that machines will eventually compete with men in all purely intellectual fields.”- Alan Turing “We are not interested in the fact that the brain has the consistency of cold porridge.” – Alan Turing From A Scene In The Imitation Game: \n“Now you decide: Am I a machine? Am I a human? Am I a war hero? Or am I a criminal? ” – Alan Turing A True Divergent Thinker: \n“Instead of trying to produce a programme to simulate the adult mind, why not rather try to produce one which simulates the child’s? If this were then subjected to an appropriate course of education one would obtain the adult brain.” – Alan Turing An Alan Turing Quote From The Imitation Game: \n“What I will need from you now is a commitment. You will listen closely, and you will not judge me until I am finished. If you cannot commit to this, then please leave the room. But if you choose to stay, remember you chose to be here. What happens from this moment forward is not my responsibility. It’s yours. Pay attention.” – Alan Turing Another Quote From The Imitation Game: \n“Are you paying attention? Good. If you are not listening carefully, you will miss things. Important things. I will not pause, I will not repeat myself, and you will not interrupt me. You think that because you’re sitting where you are, and I am sitting where I am, that you are in control of what is about to happen. You’re mistaken. I am in control, because I know things that you do not know.” – Alan Turing A Well Oiled Human Machine: \n“A man provided with paper, pencil, and rubber, and subject to strict discipline, is in effect a universal machine.” – Alan Turing “I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted.” – Alan Turing On Theological Arguments: \n“I am not very impressed with theological arguments whatever they may be used to support. Such arguments have often been found unsatisfactory in the past.” – Alan Turing Asking The Better Questions: \n“If one wants to make a machine mimic the behaviour of the human computer in some complex operation one has to ask him how it is done, and then translate the answer into the form of an instruction table. Constructing instruction tables is usually described as “programming.” – Alan Turing On Not Comparing Humans To Machines: \n“We do not wish to penalise the machine for its inability to shine in beauty competitions, nor to penalise a man for losing in a race against an aeroplane. The conditions of our game make these disabilities irrelevant.” – Alan Turing Intuition And Ingenuity: \n“Mathematical reasoning may be regarded rather schematically as the exercise of a combination of two facilities, which we may call intuition and ingenuity. The activity of the intuition consists in making spontaneous judgements which are not the result of conscious trains of reasoning… The exercise of ingenuity in mathematics consists in aiding the intuition through suitable arrangements of propositions, and perhaps geometrical figures or drawings.” – Alan Turing His Take On Science And Religion: \n“Science is a differential equation. Religion is a boundary condition.” – Alan Turing On God, Creation And Artificial Intelligence: \n“In attempting to construct such (artificially intelligent) machines we should not be irreverently usurping His (God’s) power of creating souls, any more than we are in the procreation of children. Rather we are, in either case, instruments of His will providing mansions for the souls that He creates.” – Alan Turing His Life’s Purpose: \n“I am building a brain.” – Alan Turing On Space-Time: \n“A very large part of space-time must be investigated, if reliable results are to be obtained.” – Alan Turing On His Sexual Orientation And How He Felt About Not Being Accepted: \n“I’ve now got myself into the kind of trouble that I have always considered to be quite a possibility for me, though I have usually rated it at about 10:1 against. I shall shortly be pleading guilty to a charge of sexual offences with a young man. The story of how it all came to be found out is a long and fascinating one, which I shall have to make into a short story one day, but haven’t the time to tell you now. No doubt I shall emerge from it all a different man, but quite who I’ve not found out.” – Alan Turing “Finding such a person makes everyone else appear so ordinary…and if anything happens to him, you’ve got nothing left but to return to the ordinary world, and a kind of isolation that never existed before.” – Alan Turing We are not interested in the fact that the brain has the consistency of cold porridge. Alan Turing