Brian Christian entered a Turing Test as one of the humans. His job was to convince judges that they were speaking to a person rather than a computer. This short video asks a more useful question than whether a machine can imitate us: what makes a conversation feel human?
What you are watching
In a Turing Test, judges exchange written messages with hidden participants and try to decide which replies came from a person and which came from a computer. Christian competed on the human side. He was later awarded the title “Most Human Human.”
The experiment matters because it turns the usual AI question around. Instead of asking only what a machine can do, it asks what people do when they are most recognisably themselves.
Watch for the human signals
As you watch, notice which qualities make a reply feel alive. Is it humour? Specific memory? Curiosity? Imperfection? The ability to listen and respond to what was actually said?
Then apply the question to your own digital life: are your messages helping another person feel met, or are you moving through conversations as quickly and efficiently as possible?
Three questions to take away
- When did an online conversation last make you feel genuinely understood?
- What changes when you slow down enough to answer a person rather than clear a notification?
- Which part of your communication should never be delegated to a machine?
First published 20 February 2018
Michael has spent much of his working life online—and much of the rest of it trying to stop that technology taking over. He has thrown a phone into a lake, locked devices in boxes and experimented with long periods offline. He writes about what helped, what failed and how to keep the useful parts of digital life.