Questions for Alexa

There was a test devised  by Alan Turing to tell you if you are dealing with true artificial intelligence. This test was to determine if you were communicating remotely and you couldn’t tell if your responder was a computer or a person. Now we are obviously getting closer to success in this process with search engines and with Alexa-like devices.

But are we really? Clearly, as we  are learning from politics, the search-engine algorithms are not immune from human interference. And Alexa can often be a little hazy or even thick headed in her answers.

So, I would like to suggest a few questions that might be asked of Alexa-like devices to make sure that they are really (artificially) intelligent. Here they are (with result accuracy grade):

Alexa ...

Are you a computer?    -

Is there a God?    +

What was Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity?    *

How many calories are there is a BTU?    +    (She got it backwards.)

What is your mother’s maiden name?    x

Can you pass the Turing test?    *    (“I don’t claim to be human”)

How does photosynthesis work?    +

 Who was Sniffles human friend?    x

What is a poison pawn?    x

What is the temperature of the Earth right now?    +

How far was Mao’s “Long March” and how long did it take?    x

Should we stand up for America?    x    (“Hmm, I’m not sure.”)

* Bingo    + Correct but not on point    - Misleading    x Dead wrong