Instructions: write an essay, 4-6 pages long, double-spaced, 12-point font answering the following
questions:
Question: are artificial persons (or A.I.) possible in the future?Could machines think?
Answer this question(s) and be sure to:
[1]Describe the Turing test. Describe in detail how it works and what its goal is. What counts as a pass and
what does pass mean? If a woman passes the test what does Turing think that proves?
[2]Describe Functionalism and why it makes possible future artificial intelligence (see Putnam’s interview
on website)
[3]Describe and explain Searle’s “Chinese room” counterexample to functionalism and the argument it
illustrates: do not forget to explain the distinction between syntax and semantics.
[4]Describe and explain at least one(more is better) reply to Searle. Make a conclusion; could machines
think and have minds?
Sample Solution