I propose to consider the question, “Can machines think?” — Alan Turing, “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” (1950) So begins the paper Turing published in 1950 in the philosophy journal Mind. In the very next sentence he gives up on the question. To answer it, one would have to define “machine” and “think”, and any definition would turn into an endless argument about words. Turing proposes replacing it with another question, which has the advantage that it can be tested.