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AI & Mind

Arguing with the Chinese Room

Michael DeBellis says Searle’s famous argument about computers not having understanding does not compute.

Many readers of this magazine will be familiar with John Searle’s classic ‘Chinese Room’ argument against ascribing consciousness to Artificial Intelligence. Due to my experience building AI systems for business applications, I have a different take on Searle’s argument than most others. But first let’s look at his argument.

The Chinese Room

Searle introduced the Chinese Room in a paper published in 1980, called ‘Minds, Brains, and Programs’ (Behavioral and Brain Sciences, vol.3, no.

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