Alan Mathison Turing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Alan Mathison Turing - Essay Example Alan Mathison Turing was an English mathematician, logician, and cryptographer. He is often considered to be the father of modern computer science as he has contributed immensely towards the field of computer science through his Turing test. Though not considered a philosopher, he is cited by many modern day philosophers. The Turing Test which is named after him is the most significant contribution he has made in the world of modern computers. Though there are many who has opposed this test, it has undoubtedly a turning point in today's world. In a very short span of life, Alan Turing has provided significantly. This paper describes briefly Alan Turing's Life and his achievement through the Turing Test. This paper also gives a brief overview of the future that this test holds and concludes that the Turing Test has been, and will continue to be, an influential and controversial topic.Alan Mathison Turing was an English mathematician, logician, and cryptographer and he was an original thinker. He is often considered to be the father of modern computer science as he has contributed immensely towards the field of computer science through his Turing Test. Even though Turing never designated himself as a philosopher, his 1950 paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" is most frequently cited in modern philosophical literature as it gave a new approach to the traditional mind-body problem, by connecting it to the mathematical concept of computability (Hodges, 2002). Today, it is well known fact that the Turing Test is one of the most discussed topics in artificial intelligence, philosophy of mind, cognitive science, and mechanical science. This paper describes in detail about the life of Alan Turing and also how his Turing test has an influence in the modern science. Besides, in this paper Turing's ideas are discussed in detail and also present the important comments made by many philosophers and others. Turing's test and criticism by different people are also discussed. Finally, the paper concludes looking at the future applications of Turing's test and looks at the current situation and analyzes programs that have been developed with the aim of passing the Turing Test. Alan Turing Life Alan Mathison Turing was born to an upper middle class British family in London, 23 June 1912. He was educated at Sherborne School. While in his school, he was criticized for his handwriting by his teachers. He also struggled at English and mathematics as he was too involved with developing his own ideas to produce solutions to problems using the methods taught by his teachers. From his early years of schooling he has amazed many of his teachers. He tried to always find his own solutions and in spite of producing unconventional answers, Turing did win almost every possible mathematics prize while at Sherborne. This has amazed many of his teachers. The one subject he liked was chemistry. However from a very early age, he carried out experiments following his own plan which did not please his chemistry teacher. As a result of these Turing's headmaster once wrote:- "If he is to stay at Public School, he must aim at becoming educated. If he is to be solely a Scientific Specialist, he is wasting his time at a Public School". In spite of the difficult schooling years, Turing entered King's College, Cambridge, in 1931 to study