What is the Turing Test? About Loebner Prize:

The Turing Test is a method of inquiry in artificial intelligence (AI) for determining whether or not a computer is capable of thinking like a human being. The test is named after Alan Turing, the founder of the Turing Test and an English computer scientist, cryptanalyst, mathematician and theoretical biologist.

• During the test, one of the humans functions as the questioner, while the second human and the computer function as respondents. The questioner interrogates the respondents within a specific subject area, using a specified format and context. After a preset length of time or number of questions, the questioner is then asked to decide which respondent was human and which was a computer.
• The test is repeated many times. If the questioner makes the correct determination in half of the test runs or less, the computer is considered to have artificial intelligence because the questioner regards it as “just as human” as the human respondent.

Variations and alternatives to the Turing Test

There have been a number of variations to the Turing Test to make it more relevant. Such examples include:

• Reverse Turing Test — where a human tries to convince a computer that it is not a computer. An example of this is a CAPTCHA.
• Total Turing Test — where the questioner can also test perceptual abilities as well as the ability to manipulate objects.
• Minimum Intelligent Signal Test — where only true/false and yes/no questions are given.

Alternatives to Turing Tests were later developed because many see the Turing test to be flawed. These alternatives include tests such as:

• The Marcus Test — in which a program that can ‘watch’ a television show is tested by being asked meaningful questions about the show’s content.
• The Lovelace Test 2.0 — which is a test made to detect AI through examining its ability to create art.

Loebner Prize has been awarded annually since 1990 to the most human-like computer program as voted by a panel of judges.

The competition follows the standard rules of the Turing Test. Critics of the award’s relevance often downplay it as more about publicity than truly testing if machines can think.

About Loebner Prize:

• The Loebner Prize was an annual competition in artificial intelligence that awarded prizes to the computer programs considered by the judges to be the most human-like.
• The format of the competition was that of a standard Turing test