Date: Wednesday – November 29, 2023
Time: 03:00PM – 04:00PM
Location: DT 2203/Online
Title: On the Uses of Turing Tests
Speaker: Dr. Josh Redstone
Abstract: Over half a century ago, Alan Turing proposed “the Imitation Game” as a test of whether digital computers can think. In this talk, I will argue that subsequent discussion of Turing tests – human-machine interactions that are importantly similar to Turing’s original Imitation Game – has been limited in its understanding of what they are good for, viewing them as good either for prompting philosophical reflection on the limits of our concept of the mental or for addressing empirical questions about the machines involved in human-machine interactions. I will argue that Turing tests may have another important use, namely: addressing empirical questions about the humans involved in human-machine interactions. That is, Turing tests can be useful not just as conceptual prompts or non-reflexive experimental apparatus, but as reflexive experimental apparatus.
I begin with an examination of Turing’s work and of the subsequent discussion’s limited understanding of the usefulness of Turing tests as either conceptual prompts or non-reflexive experimental apparatus. I then lay out the key elements of my novel proposal that they are useful as reflexive experimental apparatus, with a focus on philosophical considerations relation to computationalism and objections to Turing’s test (such as Searle’s Chinese Room) on the one hand, and the advent of Large Language Models such as ChatGPT on the other
Biography: Josh Redstone completed his BA (Hon) in philosophy at Nipissing University in 2011, and his MA in philosophy at Carleton University in 2013. He completed his PhD in cognitive science at Carleton University in 2019. His research concerns philosophical and empirical questions that arise at the intersection of philosophy of mind, cognitive science, robotics, and AI. He currently teaches courses on topics such as the ethics of AI, minds and machines, moral psychology, and the emotions at Carleton University.