# Computing Machinery and Intelligence (1950): SI History

> Alan Turing publishes "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" and proposes the imitation game, the first serious test for machine minds. Sources linked.

Source: https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/computing-machinery-and-intelligence-1950/
Updated: 2026-11-08

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RSI Encyclopedia · Event · 1950

# Computing Machinery and Intelligence (1950)

Alan Turing publishes "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" and proposes the imitation game, the first serious test for machine minds.

Date
:   1950

Type
:   Milestone

Status
:   Happened

Era
:   1950

## What happened

Alan Turing publishes "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" and proposes the imitation game, the first serious test for machine minds.

## Why it matters

Turing replaced the vague question of whether machines can think with a test of behavior: can a machine hold a conversation that a judge cannot tell from a person? The paper also anticipated objections still heard today, and suggested building a child machine that learns, the approach modern systems follow.

## Source

1. [Mind, 1950](https://academic.oup.com/mind/article/LIX/236/433/986238)

## On the timeline

This event is one of 20 milestones on the [RSI timeline](https://enterrsi.si/timeline/), from 1950 to SI building SI.

The event

Date
:   October 1, 1950

Type
:   Timeline milestone

Related terms

[Super Intelligence (SI) **Term**](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/super-intelligence/)

Cite this entry

"Computing Machinery and Intelligence (1950)." The RSI Encyclopedia, enterrsi.si, November 8, 2026. https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/computing-machinery-and-intelligence-1950/

Free to cite under CC BY 4.0 with a link to enterrsi.si.

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