TURING (1912-1954)
Alan Turing is known as an English mathematician, cryptologist, and one of the founders of modern computers and artificial intelligence. In his article titled “On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem” published in 1936, Turing developed the concept of the Turing Machine, one of the cornerstones of modern computer science. During World War II, Turing’s Bombe machine became one of the most critical contributions that changed the course of the war by deciphering the German Enigma codes. In 1952, he was sentenced to chemical castration as a result of his homosexual relationships being revealed. In 1954, he was found poisoned in his room.
In his article titled “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” published in 1950, he addresses the question of whether machines can have the ability to think. Instead of trying to define the meanings of the terms machine and thinking, he suggests playing a pretend game. A machine in one room and a human in another room answer the questions of an interrogator in the third room in writing. If the interrogator cannot tell which one is the machine, the machine is considered to have passed the Turing test. Turing believed that in 50 years, the question of whether machines can think will become so meaningless that it is not worth discussing.
SEARLE (1932-)
John Searle is an American philosopher. He is known for his work on philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence, and the Chinese Room argument. He argues that the mind is not a process like computer programs, but a much more complex and natural process. In the Chinese Room experiment, by placing a person who does not know Chinese at all into a system where he can produce answers in Chinese with the help of a guide, he argues that meaning and conscious thinking cannot be provided by mechanical processes alone. According to him, a machine can give correct answers in a language, but it cannot really understand the meaning of these answers.
DENNET (1942-)
Daniel Dennett is an American philosopher. He is an important thinker on the subjects of mind and consciousness. While accepting the potential of artificial intelligence, he adopts a functionalist approach to the philosophy of mind. According to Dennett, the mental states of a machine are functionally comparable to the states in the human mind.
BOSTROM (1973-)
Nick Bostrom is known for his work on the potential risks of artificial intelligence. In particular, he discusses the threats that artificial intelligence that will reach the level of superintelligence may pose to humanity and how these threats can be dealt with.
KURZWEIL (1948-)
Ray Kurzweil has an optimistic perspective on the development of technology and the role of artificial intelligence in human life. He argues that the boundaries between humans and machines will become increasingly blurred by defending the concept of "singularity".
PUTNAM (1926-2021)
Hilary Putnam questions the relationship between the mind and the computer. While addressing the similarities between the functioning of the mind and the computer, he discusses whether a machine can be a conscious being.
SCHNEIDER (1971-)
Susan Schneider examines the relationship between artificial intelligence and consciousness and mental states. She discusses how conscious machines can emerge and the ethical dimensions of this situation.