Definition: Turing test

The "acid test" of true artificial intelligence, as defined by the English scientist Alan Turing. In the 1940s, he said "a machine has artificial intelligence when there is no discernible difference between the conversation generated by the machine and that of an intelligent person."

A computing pioneer, Turing cracked Germany's Enigma encryption code in World War II, helping end the war and saving millions of lives. In 2014, The Imitation Game movie of this achievement was released starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley.

In the best selling book, "The Singularity Is Near," Ray Kurzweil expressed the opinion that computers will pass the Turing test in the late 2020s. See Turing machine, Turing Complete, Turing Award, Loebner prize, AI complete, CAPTCHA, chatbot and computer generations.

Alan Mathison Turing

After prosecution for homosexuality in 1952, Turing agreed to chemical castration by the British government in lieu of prison. Two years later, a humiliated Turing died of cyanide poisoning at age 41. In 2013, Queen Elizabeth granted him a posthumous pardon. (Image courtesy of The Computer History Museum.)