Intelligence

Letters on Turing

ITBusiness.ca

Turing's almost single-handed brilliance helped the Allies crack the Nazi Enigma code, saving thousands of lives. As was the case with most WWII intelligence boffins, the need for immediate secrecy and the Brits' 30-year lid on covert operations made for an unsung hero.

Turing was a deep thinker, not scared to state his case.The Turing Test you mention reminds me of Canada's Marshall McLuhan who stated that technology is an extension, not a replacement, of human excellence.
In the 1950's Turing predicted that computers would evolve to a point where they would be programmed to mimic human intelligence.
Debate for and against the notion that a computer could replace or rival human thinking has continued ever since. Has technology advanced to this level of sophistication? Can we rely on computer systems to perform crucial functions in the role of final authority?
Thanks again for great articles!
Rodger Harding

Re: The truth about Turing (June 7)
Thank you for bringing back into the light the name of Alan Turing. I think that this man was ahead of his time, and performed work that was decades ahead of anyone alse, bringing ideas and concepts to light that have influence in the IT industry today.
The IT industry needs to acknowledge the contributions of this man. Not only did he teach about computing and mathematics, his life -- and end of life -- should teach us all about our society.

It is enormously distressing to learn that the mistakes of his era pervade our society still. Let us hope that his legacy can lead us to better machines and better behaviour, both on a societal and individual level.

June 18, 2004 at 09:41 PM in Cold War | Permalink | TrackBack (1) | Top of page | Blog Home