Computer Science
Write a paper on the computer science contributions made by Alan Turing
The minimum requirement is to use at least one scholarly source, you can use as many as you’d like but at use at least one. Please cite APA style. Please have into, body and conclusion
no more then 12 point font
Computer Science
Alan Turing happens to be the father of modern computing. Before the beginning of world war II, he introduced a universal machine that had the characteristics of a computer. Turing became very instrumental in the development and influence of computing devices that helped shorten the war globally by almost two years. That was done by decoding the encrypted messages that belonged to the enemies. He is well known for the influence he made in the field of computing. Some of the discoveries he made include a universal computing machine, the Turing test, CAPTCHA and breaking the enigma code. He also came up with the Automatic Computer Engine that failed due to delays after returning to school.
First, a universal computing machine, which was also known as the Turing machine, was created when Turing was researching King’s college. He used to get fascinated by machines that could multitask, playing a mathematical calculation ideal model. He wrote a paper in 1936, where he put down the idea of creating a machine that could take instructions stored in the memory of the machine to alter programs, and from the word processor, also change processes (Bowen, 2016). The machine could also change a game to a calculator. The concept worked through the execution of instructions that were pre-programmed in a finite set and ran infinitely or stop when instructed. The machine was named as a precursor used in computing.
The second was a Turing Test, which was made from the idea of artificial intelligence. Turing tried creating a standard for intelligence, where he came up with the Turing Test. That was a method used to test the ability of a machine to show the ability, such as that of a human. The Turing procedure used entailed a person’s judgment, whether there was a difference between a computer and a human while engaging in a conversation. There were limits involved in the test, such as using a keyboard and a screen to accomplish it.
The third invention was CAPTCHA, which was created through the Turing test. Basically, the acronym CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. It was used to differentiate humans from computers when signing up on a website. It is used for security purposes aimed at protecting websites from attacks and bots by the use of grading tests that can be read by humans only. The Turing Test is the reverse of CAPTCHA since the concept used is the same, only that it is the reverse of the other.
The fourth idea involves breaking of the enigma code. During world war II, Turing spent his time breaking Gerade. He used to decrypt messages from the Lorenz machines and German Enigma. He also created the Bombe, which was a cryptanalytic electromechanical device (Bowen, 2016). The device would replicate the Enigma machine motions hoping to uncover daily settings of the machine within the networks of the military. The encrypted messages sent to the allies were read using the Bombe, which helped in setting the British back in the military attacks.
In conclusion, computers reused every day from banks to education, offices, theatres, among others. The incorporation of computers is due to Turing’s contribution. The Universal Turing Machine that was part of his invention laid a strong foundation for modern digital computers. He later introduced a Turing machine that performed mathematical functions hence the algorithm concept. His invention of the Universal machine, which interpreted programs by emulating other machines, was a brilliant idea. It worked in a simple manner and performed almost all functions.
Reference
Bowen, J. P. (2016, March). Alan Turing: founder of computer science. In-School on Engineering Trustworthy Software Systems (pp. 1-15). Springer, Cham.
