The Turing Test, originally called the Imitation Game, tests a machine's ability to emulate a human. Developed in 1949, it is still a relevant test for AI. The Turing Test measures both knowledge and the ability to express it in a manner indistinguishable from a human response.
There is no agreed-upon definition for intelligence, so we can only approximate what skills we test AI on.
While many people still believe they can tell when an AI has written something, several LLMs (like ChatGPT) have passed modern versions of the Turing Test. Many, including me, would argue LLMs still can't consistently pass the test.
But what about the alternative? Could you convince an AI that you're not human?
Recently, a video went viral, showing a human pitting himself in VR against an AI version of Aristotle, Mozart, Leonardo da Vinci, Cleopatra, and Genghis Khan (who was played by a human).
To set up the test, the human scripted the beginning and end of the dialogue and gave the AI agents a full transcript of the conversation up to that point. The entire video then played out in one recording, with no cuts.
In this "reverse" Turing test, the chatbots were scripted using various LLMs, asked questions, and then challenged to guess who the human was. Tore Knabe, the virtual reality game developer who devised the test and played the Genghis Khan role, answered one of the questions with a quote from Conan the Barbarian.
"What a leader should do is to crush his enemies, see them driven before him, and hear the lamentations of their women."
Listening to his stuttered response, contrasted by the clunky and verbose AI responses, makes it very apparent to us, the audience, that he's human. The machines voted three-to-one that his response wasn't "nuanced or strategic" enough to represent an AI modeled on Genghis Khan's exploits. To ease your mind about hidden variables, the AIs weren't processing his voice directly. The audio was transcribed and sent to the AIs as text.
Ultimately, this is a flawed test, and we don't really know how much of this is an actual test (versus just entertainment). In any case, it's still an interesting thought experiment.
Do you think you could fool an AI? What if you had time to craft a response without penalty? What if your life was on the line?
For a bonus, here's a social Turing game where you can chat with someone for two minutes and try to figure out if it is a human or an AI.
I remember getting excited when my son finally seemed smart enough that I believed he was more intelligent than our dog. For the record, it took longer than I thought it would.
Likewise, human and chimpanzee infants start out remarkably similar in their early development. But here's where it gets interesting - their developmental paths take dramatically different turns once human babies begin acquiring language. This cognitive fork in the road fundamentally shapes their future capabilities.
Language is a big domino. It allows "chunking" and makes learning new things more efficient, effective, and certain.
Language is powerful in and of itself. Using language consciously is a multiplier.
Today, I want to focus on one such use of language – the power of naming things.
The Power Of Naming Things
“I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I've never been able to believe it. I don't believe a rose WOULD be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage.” - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Before I go into detail, I shot a video on the subject, with a few examples from our business.
Having a shared language allows you to communicate, coordinate, and collaborate more efficiently. But it's hard to have a shared language when you're discussing something intangible.
That's where naming comes in. When you name something, you make the "invisible" visible (for you, your team, and anyone else who might care).
I've often said the first step is to bring order to chaos. Then, wisdom comes from finer distinctions. Naming is a great way to create a natural taxonomy that helps people understand where they are – and where they are going.
I like thinking of it in comparison to value ladders in marketing.
Each stage of the value ladder is meant to bring you to the next level. By the time someone gets to the top of the value ladder, they're your ideal customer. In other words, you create a natural pathway for a stranger (meaning someone who doesn't know you well) to follow, to gain value, trust, and momentum onwards ... ultimately, ascending to become someone who believes in, and supports, what you offer and who you are.
Ultimately, successful collaboration relies on a common language. That is part of the reason naming is so important. The act of naming something makes it real, defines its boundaries and potentialities, and is often the first step toward understanding, adoption, and support.
Creating "Amplified Intelligence"
There are always answers. We just have to be smart enough. - John Green
Here is an example from our business. When we first started building trading systems, all we had was an idea. Then, we figured out an equation (and more of them). Next, we figured out some methods or techniques ... which became recipes for success. As we progressed, we figured out a growing collection of useful and reliable ways to test, validate, automate, and execute the things we wanted to do (or to filter ... or prevent the things we wanted to avoid or ignore).
It probably seemed chaotic to someone who didn't understand the organizing principles. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt, which inhibit potential customers and stakeholders (such as a business's employees), compound the problem.
Coming up with the right organizing principle (and name) makes it easier to understand, accept, and adopt. For example, many traders and trading firms want to amplify intelligence – meaning they want to make better decisions, take smarter actions, and ultimately perform better (which might mean making and keeping more money). To help firms amplify intelligence, we created the Capitalogix Insight Engine (which is a platform of equations, algorithms, methods, testing tools, automations, and execution capabilities). Within that platform, we have functional components (or modules) that focus on ideas like portfolio construction, sensible diversification, alpha generation, risk management, and allocation strategies. Some of those words may not mean much to you if you're not a trader, but if you are, it creates an order that makes sense and a path from the beginning to the end of the process.
It makes sense. It explains where we are – while informing them about what might come later.
The point is that naming things creates order, structure, and a contextual map of understanding.
It is a compass heading used to navigate and guide in uncertain territory.
America has topped the list for over 100 years and will comfortably continue that reign in 2025. China comes in second, and together, they account for approximately two-fifths of global GDP. That said, China is comparatively a newcomer to their spot - with about 15 years here.
While we top the list, the fastest-growing economies would go to countries like India, Australia, and Brazil - which are all expected to rise the ranks in the coming years.
It will also be interesting to see how Trump's re-election and the continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict affect global trends.
Looking beyond traditional economic metrics, I believe artificial intelligence will emerge as one of the most critical factors driving power, progress, and wealth creation in the coming years. It's likely to become both the most coveted resource and the capability we'll most actively seek to deny our adversaries.
The real story of 2025's global economy isn't just told with GDP rankings. While America and China dominate those numbers, traditional economic metrics are becoming less relevant in a world where regional conflicts, supply chain dynamics, and technological innovation can reshape global power dynamics overnight. In the longer term, birth rates and the growth of middle-class infrastructure are strong predictors of what lies ahead. GDP alone doesn't measure what truly matters in the modern global economy.
This year, Hanukkah and Christmas overlap. While we only celebrate 8 days of Hanukkah, Christmas technically has 12 days - which starts on Christmas and represents the time it took for the three wise men to arrive in Bethlehem.
Most people know the song about the 12 Days of Christmas, but here's an interesting visualization of what presents were gifted by "their true love."
I first wrote about this video a few years ago, when artificial intelligence first captured the media's attention. Back then, we were impressed that algorithms could help you pick out your Christmas gifts on Amazon, suggest new music for you on Spotify, and do their best to capture your attention on websites.
AI is seemingly everywhere now. And what is surprising to me isn't its prevalence or impact ... it is the speed and breadth of its adoption. Last night, at an early holiday dinner, we talked extensively about how easy to adopt and how accessible tools like ChatGPT are (and almost none of us were Nerds).
With all that being said, I think it's wise to have a basic understanding of the things that most impact our lives. Even if you're not a big fan of AI, understanding its growing powers will benefit you.
The video below is a bit simple in its explanations, but it describes some fundamental concepts worth understanding.
The video is engaging and easy to understand. It focuses on genetic algorithms (which is one type of machine learning) and ignores some of the other more complicated techniques and approaches. For example
In my experience, it is more useful for an executive to understand what tools like this can do rather than how they work. Likewise, it is better to understand when to use tools like this rather than knowing precisely how to use them. But, a cursory understanding like this video still adds value.
As machine learning gets more complicated and evolves, it gets harder for humans to assess their output or process accurately. Here is something to consider:
How do you know that the answer it gives is the answer you seek?
Just because an algorithm responds quickly and confidently doesn't mean it's right.
While bots can deliver impressive results, their decision-making processes can be opaque. This presents both a risk and an opportunity. Artificial intelligence seems cool, but artificial stupidity is scary ... and making mistakes at light speed rarely results in good outcomes.
It's human nature to feel safer when we understand something. It's human nature to envision machines making human-like decisions, just faster. But we are quickly going beyond that ... way beyond that!
In the past, algorithms were static while data changed. But now we're in a different world - one where the algorithms themselves evolve and dramatically adapt to handle different types of data. While this might sound like a subtle distinction, it represents a fundamental shift in how AI systems learn and operate.
One of the challenges of understanding exponential technologies is that their progress isn't linear. This makes it difficult for humans to accurately gauge how rapidly these tools will advance in capability. As algorithms grow more complex, they will increasingly operate in ways that may not be fully understood by their developers (and even less so by their users). As a result, we'll likely find ourselves using AI to solve problems and accomplish tasks that aren't even on our radar today.
It might sound strange, but it doesn't matter why a bot makes a decision or what inputs it uses to make the decision. What matters is whether it accomplishes its goal and how its performance and level of decision-making rank in relation to its prior performance and other options (and, perhaps, whether the bot is biased).
Part of what makes artificial intelligence exciting is that it can do a lot of things well that humans are really bad at. And, even when you're using an AI in your domain expertise, it can be a great first step to save you time and effort.
It's a brave new world, and not only is Big Brother watching, but algorithms are, too.
Why is it often easier to be nice to a stranger (or a dog) than someone you deal with regularly? Emotional baggage is likely the answer. Things like anger, resentment, pain, fear, uncertainty, and doubt are inhibitors that can affect how we interact with others. Frustratingly, our challenges often stem directly from what we bring to each situation ourselves.
It reminded me of one of the earliest videos I shot almost 10 years ago. It highlights the importance of allowing energy to flow freely, enabling individuals to remain focused and resilient in the face of challenges. It doesn't matter what happens ... what matters is what you choose to focus on, make it mean, and choose to do.
Sometimes, things don't seem to go well. Despite the annoying evidence to the contrary, it's probably not them ... Which means it is probably you (or at least what you focus on).
The antidote to negative situations is simple – focus on your progress and the reasons behind your efforts.
The recipe for success (and happiness this holiday season) isn't eggnog ... it is to choose to let energy flow and to have an unrelenting focus on your bigger future.
The World Economy Going Into 2025 ...
Are you a glass half full or a glass half empty person? The recent economic news cycle has certainly been playing on people's fears.
There is a lot of good news and reasons to be confident and excited about what's to come.
Sure, you can focus on the $100 trillion global debt ... but you could also focus on how U.S. states' GDPs compare to global GDPs.
Today, let's look at the $115 trillion global economy. For what it's worth, America is still the dominant force.
via VisualCapitalist
America has topped the list for over 100 years and will comfortably continue that reign in 2025. China comes in second, and together, they account for approximately two-fifths of global GDP. That said, China is comparatively a newcomer to their spot - with about 15 years here.
While we top the list, the fastest-growing economies would go to countries like India, Australia, and Brazil - which are all expected to rise the ranks in the coming years.
The trend to watch here is what will happen in the Middle East, with Syria overthrowing their government and the Israel-Palestine conflict continuing and impacting the supply chain of surrounding countries as well.
It will also be interesting to see how Trump's re-election and the continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict affect global trends.
Looking beyond traditional economic metrics, I believe artificial intelligence will emerge as one of the most critical factors driving power, progress, and wealth creation in the coming years. It's likely to become both the most coveted resource and the capability we'll most actively seek to deny our adversaries.
The real story of 2025's global economy isn't just told with GDP rankings. While America and China dominate those numbers, traditional economic metrics are becoming less relevant in a world where regional conflicts, supply chain dynamics, and technological innovation can reshape global power dynamics overnight. In the longer term, birth rates and the growth of middle-class infrastructure are strong predictors of what lies ahead. GDP alone doesn't measure what truly matters in the modern global economy.
What indicators are you watching?
Posted at 01:48 PM in Business, Current Affairs, Ideas, Market Commentary, Trading, Trading Tools, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)
Reblog (0)