The Turing Test is a test to determine if computers can imitate humans, well enough that another human will not be able to differentiate the two. According to Alan Turing, if a computer passes a Turing text, it is capable of thinking.

In 1950, Turing proposed a test described above. The Turing Test involves an interrogator and two hidden subjects, with the difference being that now one of the subjects is human and one is a computer. Both subjects try to convince the interrogator, via text responses, that they are human. The interrogator has to work out which subject really is human.

The Turing test asks the following:

  • Is it possible for a computer, suitably programmed, to imitate the language and behaviour of a human?
  • Is there a theoretical limit on what a computer can input or output in the way of language? 

A Turing Machine, which is a theoretical model of a digital computer, is capable of doing the following, due to infinite time and memory.