--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Turing knew from personal experience that…" description: "\"“Turing knew from personal experience that it didn’t matter who you really were – it mattered only what others thought about you. According to Turing, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/yuval-noah-harari-100_computers_turing-knew-from-personal-experience-tha_2042340.jpg" --- # Turing knew from personal experience that it didn’t matter… ![“Turing knew from personal experience that it didn’t matter who you really were – it mattered only what others thought about you. According to Turing, in the future computers would be just like gay men in the 1950s. It won’t matter whether computers will actually be conscious or not. It will matter…” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/yuval-noah-harari-100_computers_turing-knew-from-personal-experience-tha_2042340.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/yuval-noah-harari-100_computers_turing-knew-from-personal-experience-tha_2042340.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/yuval-noah-harari-100_computers_turing-knew-from-personal-experience-tha_2042340.jpg) > ““Turing knew from personal experience that it didn’t matter who you really were – it mattered only what others thought about you. According to Turing, in the future computers would be just like gay men in the 1950s. It won’t matter whether computers will actually be conscious or not. It will matter only what people think about it. The”” [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Perception of AI matters more than its actual consciousness; societal attitudes shape technology’s impact. **In simple terms:** What people think about AI matters most. Key Takeaway Mind public perception. Themes technology ethics perception Mood analytical cautious Type philosophical technological When to use this quote - policy making - media coverage - public education Key Concepts AI consciousness social constructivism Questions to Reflect On - How does perception influence AI adoption? - What responsibilities do we have in shaping AI narratives? A Different Perspective Ignoring technical realities can mislead policy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [According Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/according-turing-3808151/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Future Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-computers-3808154/) [Gay men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay-men/) [Personal experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-experience/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turing/) [Turing Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turing-future-3808152/) [Turing Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turing-knew-3808153/) ## Related quotes > [“The Turing Test is simply a replication of a mundane test every gay man had to undergo in 1950s Britain: can you pass for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-turing-test-is-simply-a-replication-of-a-mundane-test-every-gay/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [The drugs of the future will be computers. The computers of the future will be drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-drugs-of-the-future-will-be-computers-the-computers-of-the-future/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Although I'm not prepared to move up my prediction of a computer passing the Turing test by 2029, the progress that has been achieved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/although-i-m-not-prepared-to-move-up-my-prediction-of-a-computer/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [ “Love is the Turing test, \[...\] It is how we check for life. ” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/love-is-the-turing-test-it-is-how-we-check-for-life/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“told me, that the Apple logo was an homage to Alan Turing, the British computer pioneer who broke the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/told-me-that-the-apple-logo-was-an-homage-to-alan-turing-the-british/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“His weakness in this game, and in life, is that he's never prepared for how others will act. They are predetermined but too complex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janna-levin/his-weakness-in-this-game-and-in-life-is-that-he-s-never-prepared-for/) [Janna Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janna-levin/) > [In World War II, a British mathematician named Alan Turing led the effort to crack the Nazis' communication code. He mastered the complex German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-k-simpson/in-world-war-ii-a-british-mathematician-named-alan-turing-led-the/) [Alan K. Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-k-simpson/) > [“What a familiarity with the construction of Turing test bots had begun to show me was that we fail - again and again- to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/what-a-familiarity-with-the-construction-of-turing-test-bots-had/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“Alan Turing’s halting problem: you can’t know if the cells will all die off without running the game until they do die off. Thus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bookstaber/alan-turing-s-halting-problem-you-can-t-know-if-the-cells-will-all/) [Richard Bookstaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bookstaber/) > [“So this is where all the vapid talk about the 'soul' of the universe is actually headed. Once the hard-won principles of reason and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/so-this-is-where-all-the-vapid-talk-about-the-soul-of-the-universe-is/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Will we even know when the first AGI is created? The first machine to become conscious may quickly achieve a reasonably clear understanding of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calum-chace/will-we-even-know-when-the-first-agi-is-created-the-first-machine-to/) [Calum Chace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calum-chace/) > [“So are you conscious?” The alien robot—the skin the Miller construct was using—shrugged. It was strange how well the gesture translated. “Don’t know. Seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/so-are-you-conscious-the-alien-robot-the-skin-the-miller-construct/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [“The rules of software are the same today as they were in 1946, when Alan Turing wrote the very first code that would execute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-c-martin/the-rules-of-software-are-the-same-today-as-they-were-in-1946-when/) [Robert C. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-c-martin/) > [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [“Alan Turing proposed the Turing Test: a computer is intelligent if you can't tell it from a human when you talk with it. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cjs-hayward/alan-turing-proposed-the-turing-test-a-computer-is-intelligent-if-you/) [CJS Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cjs-hayward/) ## More by Yuval Noah Harari > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Today the main source of wealth is knowledge. And whereas you can conquer oil fields through war, you cannot acquire knowledge that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-main-source-of-wealth-is-knowledge-and-whereas-you-can/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/how-do-you-cause-people-to-believe-in-an-imagined-order-such-as/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I think the basic thing that happened is we have lost our story. Humans think in stories, and we try to make sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/i-think-the-basic-thing-that-happened-is-we-have-lost-our-story/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas chimpanzees spend five hours a day chewing raw food, a single hour suffices for people eating cooked food. The advent of cooking enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-chimpanzees-spend-five-hours-a-day-chewing-raw-food-a-single/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“the Chinese air-purification market is booming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-chinese-air-purification-market-is-booming/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas liberalism merged with the milder versions of nationalism to protect the unique experiences of each human community, evolutionary humanists such as Hitler identified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-liberalism-merged-with-the-milder-versions-of-nationalism-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Corporations, money and nations exist only in our imagination. We invented them to serve us; why do we find ourselves sacrificing our lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/corporations-money-and-nations-exist-only-in-our-imagination-we/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Small children in affluent societies often dislike showering, and it takes them years of education and parental discipline to adopt this supposedly attractive custom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/small-children-in-affluent-societies-often-dislike-showering-and-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. Organic parasites, such as viruses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/ever-more-scholars-see-cultures-as-a-kind-of-mental-infection-or/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Soviet Communism was a fanatical and missionary religion. A devout Communist could not be a Christian or a Buddhist, and was expected to spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/soviet-communism-was-a-fanatical-and-missionary-religion-a-devout/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas religion asks us to believe in something, money asks us to believe that other people believe in something”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-religion-asks-us-to-believe-in-something-money-asks-us-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Terrorists are like a fly that tries to destroy a china shop. The fly is so weak that it cannot budge even a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/terrorists-are-like-a-fly-that-tries-to-destroy-a-china-shop-the-fly/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his profits by paying employees less and increasing their work hours? The standard answer is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker-increases-his-profits-by/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“A natural order is a stable order. There is no chance that gravity will cease to function tomorrow, even if people stop believing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/a-natural-order-is-a-stable-order-there-is-no-chance-that-gravity/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Explore all 1,200 Yuval Noah Harari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More Computers quotes > [I don't understand why we're all connected wirelessly via a little machine that goes in our pocket, to everybody in the world, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-don-t-understand-why-we-re-all-connected-wirelessly-via-a-little/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Note found in the patron suggestion box: "You have SIGNS up near the computers that say BE QUIET, but people don't be quiet. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-sheridan/note-found-in-the-patron-suggestion-box-you-have-signs-up-near-the/) [Gina Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-sheridan/) > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [The corporate state is an immensely powerful machine, ordered, legalistic, rational, yet utterly out of human control, wholly and perfectly indifferent to any human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/the-corporate-state-is-an-immensely-powerful-machine-ordered/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) [Jen-Hsun Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hsun-huang/) > [The popular mind often pictures gigantic flying machines speeding across the Atlantic carrying innumerable passengers in a way analogous to our modern steam ships.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-pickering/the-popular-mind-often-pictures-gigantic-flying-machines-speeding/) [William Henry Pickering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-pickering/) > [“Alan Turing proposed the Turing Test: a computer is intelligent if you can't tell it from a human when you talk with it. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cjs-hayward/alan-turing-proposed-the-turing-test-a-computer-is-intelligent-if-you/) [CJS Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cjs-hayward/) > [Computers can be taught that certain tune or certain chords changes will sound pleasant together, but I don't think it's going to reach a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonobo/computers-can-be-taught-that-certain-tune-or-certain-chords-changes/) [Bonobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonobo/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) [Cruce Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cruce-stark/) > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) [Browse all 9,389 Computers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Turing knew from personal experience that it didn’t matter who you really were – it mattered only what others thought about you. According to Turing, in the future computers would be just like gay men in the 1950s. It won’t matter whether computers will actually be conscious or not. It will matter only what people think about it. The”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yuval Noah Harari" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/turing-knew-from-personal-experience-that-it-didn-t-matter-who-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Computers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/turing-knew-from-personal-experience-that-it-didn-t-matter-who-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/yuval-noah-harari-100_computers_turing-knew-from-personal-experience-tha_2042340.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/yuval-noah-harari-100_computers_turing-knew-from-personal-experience-tha_2042340.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/yuval-noah-harari-100_computers_turing-knew-from-personal-experience-tha_2042340.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Turing knew from personal experience that it didn’t matter who you really were – it mattered only what…” — Yuval Noah Harari", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Yuval Noah Harari", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Turing knew from personal experience that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/turing-knew-from-personal-experience-that-it-didn-t-matter-who-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/turing-knew-from-personal-experience-that-it-didn-t-matter-who-you/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```