Imagine a man sitting in a room with computer-like instructions on how to respond to Chinese instructions. The man doesn't speak Chinese but can provide correct answers to any Chinese prompt he receives by merely following the instructions in the room, which are purely based on how to manipulate Chinese characters. Now, picture someone passing pieces of paper with written Chinese questions under the door, oblivious to who is inside the room. As the correct answers are returned, the person outside may assume that there must be someone inside the room who speaks Chinese, even though the man doesn't understand a word of it. The program, therefore, enables the person in the room to pass the Turing test.
The chinese room argument
The chinese room argument
The chinese room argument
Imagine a man sitting in a room with computer-like instructions on how to respond to Chinese instructions. The man doesn't speak Chinese but can provide correct answers to any Chinese prompt he receives by merely following the instructions in the room, which are purely based on how to manipulate Chinese characters. Now, picture someone passing pieces of paper with written Chinese questions under the door, oblivious to who is inside the room. As the correct answers are returned, the person outside may assume that there must be someone inside the room who speaks Chinese, even though the man doesn't understand a word of it. The program, therefore, enables the person in the room to pass the Turing test.