Can Machines Think? Deep Blue and Beyond 1

Abstract

The question “Can Machines Think?” has always intrigued researchers and philosophers. Last year the question revived when Deep Blue played Kasparov, but Kasparov then held his ground. However, recently Deep Blue defeated the World Champion, and so the question became really acute.

This article attempts to define a suitable sword-in-the-stone test, equally valid for computers and humanity. The following tests are successively discussed: the Chess Test, the Turing Test, and the Gödel Test. The Chess Test is considered to be obsolete after Kasparov’s defeat. The Turing Test is illustrated by providing background on the Loebner Prize Competitions. Its restricted version is a problematic sword-in-the-stone test; its unrestricted version is certainly not a test that any machine is going to pass any time in the foreseeable future. Finally, the Gödel Test is discussed.