Turing test beat for the first time by computer that convinced users it is human

For the first time, a computer has beat the legendary Turing test. The computer convinced users that it was a 13-year-old boy, experts say.

The test was created by Alan Turing, who broke German codes for the Allies during World War II, in 1950. He believed that if a computer could convince a user that it was human, the machine would actually by “thinking,” notes The Guardian. The University of Reading said that if a computer can convince at least 30 percent of users that it is human, it has passed the test.

“Eugene Gootsman,” a program designed to simulate a 13-year-old boy, convinced 33 percent of its judges that it was human, making it the first computer ever to pass the test. The program was tested at the Royal Society in London.

According to the university, “Eugene” was developed in St. Petersburg, Russia by Russian-born Vladimir Veselov and Ukrainian-born Eugene Demchenko.

“It is fitting that such an important landmark has been reached at the Royal Society in London, the home of British Science and the scene of many great advances in human understanding over the centuries. This milestone will go down in history as one of the most exciting,” Professor Kevin Warwick, Visiting Professor at the University of Reading and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research at Coventry University, said in a statement.

Turing was prosecuted in 1953 for homosexuality and castrated. He died two years later from cyanide poisoning. It was only last year that he finally received a royal pardon. Benedict Cumberbatch plays him in a new biopic called The Imitation Game.