Turing test: The tragic story of the father of computer science

The British scientist, who was convicted of having an affair with a man, left a significant mark that made the world rethink its attitude towards language and after

Boris Wolodarski, in collaboration with "The Technology", the technology division of Bank Hapoalim

16/06/2022

Thursday, 16 June 2022, 15:59

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In December 1951, mathematician and computer science researcher Alan Turing entered into a marital relationship with Arnold Murray, a 19-year-old young man, out of work.

Shortly after the romantic relationship between the two was established, Murray's home was broken into, and during a police investigation, the relationship was revealed.

At the time, a law in the United Kingdom prohibited sexual intercourse between two men, the two were prosecuted and convicted of an offense called "serious misconduct."

In the sentence, Turing was given the option to choose between imprisonment and treatment that includes injections of female hormones, in order to suppress his sexual desire.

Turing chose the latter option, under threat that if he did not agree to it, he would not be able to continue his research.

He developed severe side effects and went into depression.

Turing died of depression on June 7, 1954, two weeks before his 42nd birthday.

A programmer writes code (Photo: ShutterStock)

Assisted in the war against the Nazis

during his schooling, at a time when education was mainly focused on the humanities, Turing's natural inclination towards mathematics did not add to his respect among his teachers.

Despite this, Turing continued to be interested in the field and even managed to solve complicated exercises without basic knowledge of arithmetic.

In 1931 Turing

began studying mathematics at the University of Cambridge and in 1938 was certified as a doctor by Princeton University in the United States.

To London, and joined the government media headquarters.

In December 1943, the construction of the first Colossus electronic-digital computer based on Turing's mathematical concept was completed, helping the British decipher the Nazi military code Enigma, a scientific achievement that changed the course of the war and saved the lives of millions of people.

The knowledge gained in the project served as the basis for the development of computer technology in the United Kingdom and the United States.

In 1950 Turing proposed the "Turing test" as a way to verify whether the machine has artificial intelligence.

He later created a computer program capable of playing basic level chess against a human competitor, based on the theory he passed in the Turing test.

Sculpture by Alan Turing in the UK (Photo: ShutterStock)

Not recognized in his lifetime

today almost every device connected to electricity has a computer, built on the axioms that Turing field in his theory, and every advanced computer combined with artificial intelligence is able to beat the best human players in a game of chess.

In recent years many researchers have been trying to decipher the reasons that made Turing an influential scientist in the field of computer science.

Many of them conclude that Turing was on the autism spectrum, which is what made him focus his whole mind on narrow math-related interests.

Turing did not receive during his life the recognition he deserved for his tremendous contribution to society, and even today, 68 years after his death, the understanding that everyone deserves equal opportunity and everyone has the right to love and start a family regardless of sexual preferences or location on the autistic continuum is not self-evident in many parts of the world. .

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