Why No One Has Implemented the Turing Test

Identifying Turing’s Design and Putting it into Practice

Bibliographic Data

ID24225393
AuthorsDiane Proudfoot (0000-0002-9736-4489, University of Canterbury), Sharon Temtsin (0000-0002-2819-6821, University of Canterbury), Christoph Bartneck (0000-0003-4566-4815, University of Canterbury)
Year2026
Pages1-20
Publication date2026-10-14
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePhilosophy of Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-8248 • E-ISSN: 1539-767X
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/psa.2026.10282
OpenAlexW7221720811
LanguageEN
References cited62

In October 1950, Alan Turing proposed that a machine’s success in an imitation game provides a criterion for thinking. Turing’s test became one of the philosophical foundations of AI, but three-quarters of a century later, it is widely claimed that generative AI models pass the test, rendering it obsolete. Our aim here is to establish definitively Turing’s conceptual design for his game. We argue that influential interpretations of Turing’s design are mistaken, with the consequence that his test has not been passed. We also present the results of carrying out, for the first time, Turing’s experiment as he proposed it.

Alan Turing · generative AI · machine intelligence · philosophy of artificial intelligence · Turing test · Artificial Intelligence Applications · Cybernetics and Technology in Society · Philosophy and Theoretical Science

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