Jane O’Grady

What exactly do we mean by the mind?

Philip Hall urges us to explore ‘the space of possible minds’, rather than focussing on the human mind as central and unique

Alan Turing, who proposed a test in 1950 to prove how machine-like the mind is. [Alamy]
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  • The Book of Minds: How to Understand Ourselves and Other Beings, From Animalsto AI and Aliens

    Philip Ball

    Picador, pp. 512, £20

Given the ingenuity of machine-makers, said Descartes in the 17th century, machines might well be constructed that exactly resemble humans. There would always, however, be ‘a reliable test’ to distinguish them. ‘Even the stupidest man’ is equipped by reason to adapt to ‘all the contingencies of life’, while no machine could ever be made with enough pre-set ‘arrangements’ to be convincingly versatile.

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