Who was Alan Turing?

Turing in slate at Bletchley Park (Photo by Jon Callas)

Born in London, England, June 23, 1912 (seven years after Einstein proposed the theory of special relativity and four year before he proposed his general theory), Alan Turing was something of the black sheep in his family. It wasn’t so much that he was disliked, but rather that he simply did not fit. His father was in the Indian Civil Services, and his father’s brother was noted for his books on fly-fishing. Science was not a family specialty, in other words.

Turing was noted for his unconventional behavior—an obsession with bicycles, for instance—his tendency to stammer when he spoke, a general unkempt demeanor. He was a chronic nail biter and felt uncomfortable wearing ties. Even so, Turing was an outspoken individual, making no secret of his general resentment of status-seekers and charlatans. Today, there are those who have identified him as having Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild form of autism.

Whatever the case may be, young Alan had a brilliant mind, and spent his youth studying Einstein’s theories of relativity. In 1931, he enrolled in King’s College at Cambridge University where he attended the lectures of Ludwig Wittgenstein, a British-German philosopher and mathematician. This was also a time, as it is for many university students, for self-exploration, and it was around then that he came to terms with his homosexuality.

For most of his life, Turing was an individualistic and idiosyncratic person who preferred working alone. During World War II, he worked for the British Cryptanalytic Department within the so-called Government Code and Cypher School. His work led to the deciphering of messages sent by the German Enigma Machine using a complex machine called a “bombe,” which consisted of a series of spinning rotors that permeated every single possible combination the Enigma Machine produced. Turing’s work, which had been long classified, led to the Allies’ detection of German military movements, ultimately helping the Allies win the war.

After the War, he became immersed in work toward the development of early computers and artificial intelligence, and rose in rank as a prominent mathematician.

Nevertheless, he lived at a time when intolerance of so-called deviant sexual behavior prevailed. Arrested in 1952 for having a sexual relationship with another man, Turing made no attempt to cover up his actions, seeing nothing wrong with it. Nevertheless, rather than go to jail, he had to submit to chemical castration via estrogen injections, which were meant to curb his libido. Instead, the injections caused a series of side effects, including breast growth.

Life became unbearable, and on June 8, 1954, he committed suicide via cyanide poisoning.

Finally, in 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a formal apology on behalf of the United Kingdom for Turing’s death, stating that “This recognition of Alan’s status as one of Britain’s most famous victims of homophobia is another step towards equality, and long overdue.” Just this year, a stamp was commemorated in Turing’s honor for his service to Great Britain and the Allies.

Be sure to check out the following videos, which discuss both Turing’s life and his work. Also, be sure to visit The Alan Turing Home Page, which is maintained by biographer Andrew Hodges (author of Alan Turing: The Enigma).  which provides an even more information on Turing.
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Video 1: Alan Turing (A brief insight into Turing’s scientific contributions)
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Video 2: Alan Turing apology (A brief biographical insight, provided by Manchester’s Evening News)
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The Turing Machine

Alan Turing is perhaps best remembered for having deciphered Nazi Germany’s Enigma Machine, enabling the Allies to intercept German naval and aircraft movements. Later, he came to be known as a pioneer of the computer.

Below are a couple of Youtube videos featuring a recreation of the Turing Machine, a computation device.

Here is a full-length video:
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Here is an abbreviated video:
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Meet your robot overlord!

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Before the Muppets and Sesame Street, pioneering puppeteer Jim Henson worked on commercials. As the Youtube caption explains, “Jim Henson made this film in 1963 for The Bell System. Specifically, it was made for an elite seminar given for business owners, on the then-brand-new topic — Data Communications. The seminar itself involved a lot of films and multimedia presentations, and took place in Chicago.”

This robot seems to be a know-it-all, a do-it-yourselfer, but still requires a helping hand from a human off stage. A good thing, too, because it would appear that this robot is ready to take over the world.

Think about all the science fiction movies that you have seen or heard of. In both 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Terminator series,  self-conscious machines seem intent on exterminating our species. The machine-like Daleks of Dr. Who also seem intent on our “extermination.” The cybernetic Borg of the Star Trek series and Cybermen of the Dr. Who franchise kindly inform everyone they come in contact that they will be “assimilated” or “upgraded” and that “resistance is futile.”  On the other hand, we also have Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation who expresses the wish to be more human. We also have characters such as the replicants from Blade Runner who simply hope to live a long, fulfilling life. That film in particular shows that we humans are actually the antagonists. Lastly, fans of Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy may recall poor Marvin, the Paranoid Android, who seems to believe that he was created with the singular purpose of suffering.

Steel engraving for frontispiece to the revised edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, published by Colburn and Bentley, London 1831.

Back in 1818, with the English publication of Frankenstein, Mary Shelly seems to have been the person to have gotten the conversation started in the first place. Though she was only 21 years old, Shelly gave the world a novel that would inspire theorists, novelists, filmmakers, and the general public for years to come. In her novel, an obsessive doctor creates a living organism with dead tissue, then abandons the creature out of fear. It is a story about the consequences of taking on the role of God. It is also about child abandonment and the alienation of the Other in society. And, of course, it is a fascinating story that still speaks to us.

One day, we may overcome the challenges that the field of Artificial Intelligence presents us with and create a sentient artificial life form—a machine that can wind itself up. Before then, we can ponder the issues related to artificial intelligence. Here are a few questions you might wish to consider:

• What would be the purpose of an intelligent, autonomous, self-aware machine?
• Why are there so many stories about robots wishing to kill us? What is the appeal of such stories?
• Why are there so many stories about self-aware robots in the first place?
• What are the benefits of having a robot for a friend?

Finally, speaking of Jim Henson and Muppets, have you heard that The Muppets received an Academy Award nomination in the category of Best Song? Because of the presence of Muppets at the Academy Awards, this may mean that, for once, the Oscars will actually be fun to watch! Hooray!

Here is the song:

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Last question: Do you think robots would ever struggle with the same sort of existential quagmire that men and Muppets sometimes find themselves in? If so, would they sing about it? Consider writing a song for robots.

 

Humans versus Machines

This cartoon is from XKCD, which is drawn and maintained by Randall Munroe, a former roboticist at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia. This comic is relevant to Brian Christian’s The Most Human Human, as you will see when we arrive at chapter 5.

The comic illustrates something that is fundamental to computer design and artificial intelligence (AI) in general. Most of the games we play are comprised of specific formulas. One wins by calculating all the possible moves and discerning which of these moves is the best possible one. A computer, which is essentially an advanced calculator, is especially adept at this specific skill, and as Munroe illustrates, computers have already managed to beat us at a number of games, including chess and Jeopardy.

Yet, it is important to note that computers are still not able to beat us at certain games, and that AI may never be sophisticated enough to present a formidable challenge at these events. Why do you think computers have difficulty beating humans at poker? At go? At Calvinball?

Link to cartoon

 

Cleverbot

Cleverbot

Here is a link to Rollo Carpenter‘s program Cleverbot. Please take the time to visit this site and engage in a “conversation.”

Please be mindful, however, of Cleverbot’s warning: “Cleverbot learns from real people – things it says may seem inappropriate – use with discretion, and at YOUR OWN RISK.” For our general intents and purposes, your experience should be relatively safe. Cleverbot is not malware and is not designed to harm your computer. At worse, you can probably expect to have a PG-13 experience, if that. I must state that from my own experience, I have never encountered Cleverbot saying or doing anything that could be construed as offensive.

Just for fun, why not check out this conversation conducted by two chatbots designed at Cornell University‘s Clever Machines Lab:

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Finally, our purposes are educational, so be sure to record your observations of Cleverbot. In what ways does the program succeed in mimicking human conversation? In what ways is Cleverbot lacking in conversation skills?