LET’S TALK AI

By Jesse

Alan Turing: The Pioneer

Torres

Behind Modern AI

I
magine a world without smartphones,
computers, or the internet. Yikes! It's
hard to picture, right? The digital
world we live in today owes a lot to a
brilliant mind from the past: Alan Turing.
The name should ring a bell if you have
ever seen the 2014 movie The Imitation
Game.
In 1936, Turing wrote a paper that's
like the secret recipe behind today's
technology and artificial intelligence
("AI"). He didn't just solve a tricky math
problem; he showed us a whole new way
to think about machines and what they
could do.
shift in thinking, showing that while
machines can do a lot, there are limits to
their abilities.
The Magic of the Turing Machine
Imagine a machine that's like an
endless roll of paper tape, divided into
little squares. This tape can hold symbols,
and the machine can change these
symbols based on a set of rules. Sounds
simple, right? But this basic idea was
revolutionary. Turing demonstrated that
such a machine could, in theory, do any
calculation that any computer could do,
long before the first real computers were
even built.
Looking Ahead with Turing's Vision
As we stand on the edge of a future
filled with AI, Turing's ideas are more
relevant than ever. They remind us that
the journey into AI is not just about
building smarter machines but also about
understanding what it means to be human.
Turing's legacy is a mix of technology,
philosophy, and ethics, guiding us as we
navigate artificial intelligence's exciting
and uncertain waters.

Turing came up with the idea of a This idea, called "Turing-

machine - the "Turing Machine" - a
simple yet powerful concept that was the
seed of modern computers. The Turing
Machine was not a real machine you
could touch. Instead, it was an idea to help
us understand what Turing thought
computers could and could not do.
Turing's work from back in the 1930s has
acted as our guiding light, showing us
how to navigate the exciting world of AI.
Turing's Big Idea
Back in the early 1900s, the math
community was all abuzz about this
challenge: Could we find a one-size-fits-
all method to solve every math problem?
Turing, a young genius, came up with a
groundbreaking idea. He introduced the
concept of a "universal computing
machine," or the Turing Machine. This
wasn't just a fancy math solution; it was
the seed that would grow into the forest of
modern computing.
Turing suggested that we focus not
just on solving every math problem but on
understanding what problems machines
can help us solve. It was a game-changing
completeness," is a big deal in computer
science. If something can simulate a
Turing Machine, it can do pretty much
any calculation. This concept is the
backbone of all our current gadgets and
apps.
Turing's Legacy in AI
Turing didn't just lay the groundwork
for computers; he also sparked the first Alan Turing. WIkipedia.org
ideas about artificial intelligence. Ever
heard of the Turing Test? Turing proposed Let's honor Turing's legacy by
a simple idea: If a machine can chat with continuing to ask big questions and push
us and we can't tell it's not a human, then boundaries, always mindful of the impact
we might as well consider it intelligent. our technological creations might have on
This idea pushed people to think about the world. Turing showed us a path not
machines as not just calculators but just of computation but of imagination
potential thinkers and learners. and ethical consideration, a path that we
continue to explore as we build the future
Turing's influence is everywhere of AI.
from the earliest computers to today's
smart assistants and beyond. His ideas
underpin everything from Siri to self-
driving cars. But his work also raises big
questions about what it means to be Jesse Torres is an AI ethics and compliance
intelligent and the role of machines in our expert. He can be reached at
lives. Jesse.Torres.2009@Anderson.UCLA.edu.

Let’s Talk AI – Alan Turing: The Pioneer Behind Modern AI – January 2024