The turing test and consciousness: a proposal

Journal title EPISTEMOLOGIA
Author/s Faye Jan
Publishing Year 2014 Issue 2013/2 Language English
Pages 13 P. 181-193 File size 595 KB
DOI 10.3280/EPIS2013-002001
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In a famous paper Alan Turing argued that in case we could not, based on the linguistic responses, decide whether a computer was a man or a machine, we should hesitate, but ascribe intelligence to it. This argument has most famously been criticized by John Searle and I think his conclusion is on the right track. However, I also believe that he cannot give an account of consciousness in terms of biological selection and adaptation because he associates consciousness with human language. In the end I come forward with a suggestion according to which qualia and consciousness can be considered as two sides of the same coin and be understood in relation to the brain’s processing capacity. Qualia are what I called ‘bundled information’ and the consciousness is the ‘reader’ of this information.

Keywords: Turing test, Chinese Room, biological evolution, consciousness, qualia.

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Faye Jan, The turing test and consciousness: a proposal in "EPISTEMOLOGIA" 2/2013, pp 181-193, DOI: 10.3280/EPIS2013-002001