- A digital computer executing a program cannot have a “mind”, “understanding”, or “consciousness”, regardless of how intelligently or human-like the program may make the computer behave
- against the Strong AI hypothesis
Thought experiment
- A program or computer convinces a human Chinese speaker that the program is itself a live Chinese speaker.
-  Does the machine literally “understand” Chinese? ⇒ Strong AI
- or is it simply simulating the ability to understand Chinese ⇒ Weak AI
- Someone could receive chinese characters through a slot in the door, process them according to the program’s instructions, and produce Chinese characters as output, without understanding any of the content of the Chinese writing.