Turing experiment Named for computing pioneer Alan Turing, this is one element of testing the robustness of artificial intelligence; it's also called a Turing test. Back in the 1950s, Turing believed that by the end of this century a computer with the right program could engage in a written conversation, and for 5 minutes pass for a real human about 70 percent of the time. This test (now held annually for the Loebner Prize) involves participating in a written conversation via email or online chat. The unseen correspondent may be a person or a program, and if the human participant believes it's another person when it's really a program, the software is classified as possessing true artificial intelligence.