Turing, Alan

"The beauty of computing is that it breaks complex problems into simple, manageable steps."

"As machines become more sophisticated, the line between simulation and reality becomes increasingly blurred."

"What makes a process 'thinking'? Perhaps it is merely the combination of operations performed rapidly and in sequence."

"The question of whether a machine can think is about as relevant as the question of whether a submarine can swim."

"We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty that needs to be done."

"If a machine is expected to be infallible, it cannot also be intelligent."

"Programming is a skill best acquired by practice and example rather than from books."

"The idea behind digital computers may be explained by saying that these machines are intended to carry out any operations which could be carried out by a human computer."

"Mathematics is a mixture of reasoning and intuition."

"In the nervous system, chemical links are so numerous that an almost infinite variety of structures is possible."

"Don't worry about your difficulties in mathematics; I can assure you that mine are still greater."

"To understand a program you must become both the machine and the programmer."

"Science is a differential equation. Religion is a boundary condition."

"I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted."

"The practical problem then is: how can the machine be made to do the job?"

"Machines take me by surprise with great frequency."

"The number of states of mind that must be attributed to the machine is finite."

"We are not interested in the fact that the brain has the consistency of cold porridge."

"It seems probable that once the machine thinking method had started, it would not take long to outstrip our feeble powers."

"We cannot, at present, keep completely accurate track of the state of the machine at all times."

"Only very recently have we had the idea of the machine learning from experience."

"The idea that a machine can be conscious is about as meaningful as the idea that a ghost can be conscious."

"Do you not think you are overcomplicating it? Think only of what the engineer can reasonably be expected to be able to make."

"Can machines think? This should begin with definitions of the meaning of the terms 'machine' and 'think'."

"Intelligent machinery will be able to converse with us on all topics at our level of competence."

"Let us fix our attention outside ourselves and on external reality."

"The contradictions we encounter in our attempts to formulate the rules of thought are of great interest."

"Instruction tables will have to be got by some considerable research."

"The evidence seems to me to be overwhelming that the brain of animals is organised in this manner."

"The idea of artificial men and artificial intelligence originated in Descartes and Leibniz."