DAVID LEWIS ON THE TURING TEST: an important letter (TLS) from Lewis to Jerry Shaffer, 3 October 1964

LEWIS, David [letter to Jerome Shaffer; Alan Turing interest]

Erscheinungsdatum: 1964

Beschreibung

213 x 275mm; 3 leaves typescript; signed. AN EXCEPTIONALLY RICH LETTER ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, FROM THE PHILOSOPHER WIDELY CONSIDERED TO BE THE GREATEST POST-WAR THINKER. In 1950 Alan Turing proposed his famous 'Test' to determine whether a computer can be classed as 'intelligent'. In short, if a computer can fool a human then it passes the test and we remain agnostic about whether or not the structure of the computer matches in any way our own neurophysiology. Many philosophers have tackled the Turing Test, which has also become a touchstone of popular discussion about AI. Here the philosopher David Lewis offers his definitive statement on the relationship between computing machinery and intelligence. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy introduces Lewis as follows: "David Lewis (1941-2001) was one of the most important philosophers of the 20th Century. He made significant contributions to philosophy of language, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of science, decision theory, epistemology, meta-ethics and aesthetics. In most of these fields he is essential reading; in many of them he is among the most important figures of recent decades." In this substantial letter Lewis attempts to clarify the central question of the Turing Test: could a computational mechanism substantially unlike the human brain (he uses the word 'wrong') ever be called 'intelligent'? Lewis cites Hilary Putnam and immediately spins the question on its head by asking whether human intelligence itself is an illusion (i.e. as illusory as the 'wrong' computational model). He admits this is 'concievable - remotely conceivable'. From here Lewis launches into a complex discussion of personhood, and metaphysical questions of identity and individuation. It remains an open question how far Lewis would follow Putnam in pursuit of Turing. Putnam was well known for believing that the human mind itself was an elaborate 'Turing Machine' with an element of randomness. Underlying all of these issues is Lewis deep-rooted materialism, and his concern with temporality and with embodiment. The letter rewards careful study: Lewis seems to understand the Turing test primarily as a provocation for thinking about human consciousness. Does this mean that AI must approach accurate neurophysiology in order to lay claim to intelligence? And is 'intelligence' therefore the wrong framework for thinking about the whole issue? In 1964 Lewis could only see mechanical cognition as an illusion - what would he make of Deep Learning? Near fine condition. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 2410X01

Bibliografische Details

Titel: DAVID LEWIS ON THE TURING TEST: an important...

Erscheinungsdatum: 1964

Einband: No Binding

Zustand: Near Fine

Signiert: Signed by Author(s)

Auflage: 1st Edition