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Minimum intelligent signal test

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The Minimum Intelligent Signal Test, or MIST, is a variation of the Turing test proposed by Chris McKinstry in which only binary (yes/no or true/false) answers may be given to questions. The purpose of such a test is to provide a quantitative statistical measure of humanness, which may subsequently be used to optimize the performance of artificial intelligence systems intended to imitate human responses.

McKinstry gathered approximately 80,000 "propositions" that could be answered "yes" or "no," eg.:

-"is earth a planet?"

-"was abraham lincoln once president of the united states?"

-"Do people sometimes lie?"

(sic)

These questions test both specific knowledge of aspects of culture, and basic facts about the meaning of various words and concepts. It could therefore be compared with the SAT, intelligence testing and other controversial measures of mental ability. McKinstry's aim was not to distinguish between shades of intelligence but to identify whether a computer program could be considered intelligent at all. A program able to do better than chance (50%) on a large number of MIST questions would be judged to have some level of intelligence and understanding.

McKinstry criticized existing approaches to artificial intelligence such as chatterbots, saying that his questions could "kill" AI programs by quickly exposing their weaknesses. He contrasted his approach, a series of direct questions assessing an AI's capabilities, to the Turing Test and Loebner Prize method of engaging an AI in undirected typed conversation.

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