Paraphrased

Did Alan Turing Predict AI Would Surpass Human Intelligence?

A quote about thinking machines attributed to the father of computer science is likely a paraphrase

If a machine can think, it might think more intelligently than we do, and then where should we be?

— Attributed to Alan Turing (Computer science, codebreaking)

Alleged date: 1951

From a BBC programme.

The Verdict: Paraphrased — The Words Were Changed

This quote captures Turing's ideas but the exact wording cannot be traced to any verified primary source. It appears to be a modernized paraphrase of ideas from his landmark 1950 paper 'Computing Machinery and Intelligence.'

Database Verification Note

Found in 1 providers: gemini

1 source cross-referenced

The Real Story

Alan Turing's 1950 paper 'Computing Machinery and Intelligence' is considered the foundational text of artificial intelligence. In it, he proposed what became known as the 'Turing Test' -- the idea that a machine could be considered intelligent if a human could not distinguish its responses from those of another human. While Turing did discuss the possibility of machines surpassing human intelligence, his actual writing was more tentative and philosophical. He wrote carefully about the implications, noting 'We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.' The simplified version of his ideas, compressed into pithy quotes, loses the careful nuance that characterized his actual thinking on the subject.

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