Brain in a vat

Watch the move “The Imitation Game” available on Netflix, the following short videos on the Chinese Room Argument, and the movie “The Matrix” in order to answer the questions below.

Chinese Room Argument:

1. John Searle presenting his argument:

The Chinese Room Argument (Links to an external site.) The Chinese Room Argument

2. An animation of the Argument:

The Chinese Room – 60-Second Adventures in Thought (3/6) (Links to an external site.) The Chinese Room – 60-Second Adventures in Thought (3/6)

3. Experimentation of the Argument:The Chinese Room Experiment – The Hunt for AI – BBC (Links to an external site.) The Chinese Room Experiment – The Hunt for AI – BBC

4. Dennett offering a refutation:

Dennett Chinese Room excerpt from PhilosophyBites.com (Links to an external site.) Dennett Chinese Room excerpt from PhilosophyBites.com

Questions:

1. What is a Turing Machine? (You will need to do more research beyond the movie to get the answer to this one.)

2. What is the imitation game (i.e. touring test) and why is it important?

3. Does the Chinese Room Argument refute the possibility of AI? Why?

4. What is the Matrix?

5. Is it possible that we are all within the Matrix (Philosophically stated: Is each of us a brain in a vat – see the image below)?