http://cogprints.org/1584/ The Turing Test Is Not A Trick: Turing Indistinguishability Is A Scientific Criterion It is important to understand that the Turing Test (TT) is not, nor was it intended to be, a trick; how well one can fool someone is not a measure of scientific progress. The TT is an empirical criterion: It sets AI's empirical goal to be to generate human-scale performance capacity. This goal will be met when the candidate's performance is totally indistinguishable from a human's. Until then, the TT simply represents what it is that AI must endeavor eventually to accomplish scientifically. Harnad, Stevan Artificial Intelligence Philosophy of Mind Stevan Harnad