Physicist Unveils a 'Turing Test' For Free Will 401
KentuckyFC writes "The problem of free will is one of the great unsolved puzzles in science, not to mention philosophy, theology, jurisprudence and so on. The basic question is whether we are able to make decisions for ourselves or whether the outcomes are predetermined and the notion of choice is merely an illusion. Now a leading theoretical physicist has outlined a 'Turing Test' for free will and says that while simple devices such as thermostats cannot pass, more complex ones like iPhones might. The test is based on an extension of Turing's halting problem in computer science. This states that there is no general way of knowing how an algorithm will finish, other than to run it. This means that when a human has to make a decision, there is no way of knowing in advance how it will end up. In other words, the familiar feeling of not knowing the final decision until it is thought through is a necessary feature of the decision-making process and why we have the impression of free will. This leads to a simple set of questions that forms a kind of Turing test for free will. These show how simple decision-making devices such as thermostats cannot believe they have free will while humans can. A more interesting question relates to decision-makers of intermediate complexity, such as a smartphone. As the author puts it, this 'seems to possess all the criteria required for free will, and behaves as if it has it.'"
My phone has free will (Score:5, Funny)
mostly global warming lies... (Score:5, Funny)
It's like giving Prak an overdose of truth serum and have him ramble on about frogs for sixty hours.
Re:Hmm (Score:5, Funny)
My thermostat believes it's Napoleon, and whenever I wander by it on the way to the restroom at night, it always bugs me about how we should be invading Russia and to please make sure I never ship him off to Elba or some such nonsense.
Re:Hmm (Score:2, Funny)
Do thermostats really believe things?
I'd vote yes. Mine systematically believes that the temperature I set is not the one I want.
Re:Siri doesn't have free will (Score:2, Funny)
Actual Questions HERE! (Score:5, Funny)
1. It’s your birthday. Someone gives you a calfskin wallet. How do you react?
2. You've got a little boy. He shows you his butterfly collection plus the killing jar. What do you do?
3. You’re watching television. Suddenly you realize there’s a wasp crawling on your arm.
4. You’re in a desert walking along in the sand when all of the sudden you look down, and you see a tortoise, Tony, it’s crawling toward you. You reach down, you flip the tortoise over on its back, Tony. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can’t, not without your help. But you’re not helping. Why is that?
5. Describe in single words, only the good things that come into your mind about your mother.
Re:Siri doesn't have free will (Score:4, Funny)
But perhaps she floats like a piece of wood. In which case she may be burnt. BURN HER!!!
Re:My phone has free will (Score:5, Funny)
Don't forget the random auto-"corrections" that it makes to what you type. Sometimes I think my phone is trying to get me killed...
[Text to Wife] Honey I'll be picking up some (chicken) chicks to eat tonight. See you at (home) hate you (gorgeous) gordo lady! P.S. (Veronica) Erotica at work was crazy today, tell you all about it later.
Re:Siri doesn't have free will (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Siri doesn't have free will (Score:5, Funny)
And in the same sense, does a married man have free will? At first it might appear so, but upon further investigation it is clear that he does not.
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Siri doesn't have free will (Score:4, Funny)
This rock on my desk can't predict it's behaviour at all. It sounds like it passes with flying colours.
On the other hand, I can predict it's behaviour quite accurately.
Re:Siri doesn't have free will (Score:2, Funny)
Do the programmers actually have free will, or is it just the Toxoplasma parasites in their brains?