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Alan Turing Quotes - Page 2

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We may hope that machines will eventually compete with men in all purely intellectual fields. But which are the best ones to start with? Many people think that a very abstract activity, like the playing of chess, would

We may hope that machines will eventually compete with men in all purely intellectual fields. But which are the best ones to start with? Many people think that a very abstract activity, like the playing of chess, would be best. It can also be maintained that it is best to provide the machine with the best sense organs that money can buy, and then teach it to understand and speak English.

Alan Turing
Men, Thinking, Speak English

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
Powerful, Brain, President
Quoted in Andrew Hodges, Alan Turing: The Enigma of Intelligence (1983)

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
Lying, Believe, Men

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.

Alan Turing
Moving, Past, Support
Alan Mathison Turing, B. J. Copeland (2004). “The Essential Turing”, p.450, Oxford University Press

Mathematical reasoning may be regarded rather schematically as the exercise of a combination of two facilities, which we may call intuition and ingenuity.

Alan Turing
Exercise, Two, Intuition
"Systems of Logic Based on Ordinals". Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, Series 2, Volume 45, 1939.

A very large part of space-time must be investigated, if reliable results are to be obtained.

Alan Turing
Space, Results, Space Time
Alan Mathison Turing, B. J. Copeland (2004). “The Essential Turing”, p.453, Oxford University Press

These disturbing phenomena [Extra Sensory Perception] seem to deny all our scientific ideas. How we should like to discredit them! Unfortunately the statistical evidence, at least for telepathy, is overwhelming.

Alan Turing
Science, Ideas, Perception

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,” Turing had advised. “Rather we are, in either case, instruments of His will providing mansions for the souls that He creates.

Alan Turing
Children, Intelligent, Creating

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.

Alan Turing
Peace, Real, War

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.

Alan Turing
Dragons, Principles, Benefits
Epigram to Robin Gandy in 1954. "Alan Turing: The Enigma". Book by Andrew Hodges, p. 513, 1992.

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.

Alan Turing
Real, Needs, Machines
B. E. Carpenter, Alan Mathison Turing, Michael Woodger (1986). “A.M. Turing's ACE report of 1946 and other papers”, The MIT Press

Bell Labs Cafeteria, New York, 1943: 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."

Alan Turing
New York, Powerful, Voice
"Alan Turing: The Enigma". Book by Andrew Hodges, p. 251, 1983.

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