What is the purpose of the Turing Test?

The Turing Test is designed to evaluate an AI system's ability to exhibit behavior indistinguishable from that of a human. This test assesses whether a machine can simulate human conversation or thought processes convincingly enough that a human evaluator cannot reliably tell whether they are interacting with a human or a machine. The significance of the Turing Test lies in its focus on human-like interactions, rather than the underlying technology or data processing capabilities of the AI system. Thus, recognizing a machine's capacity to engage in conversation and replicate human-like responses is central to the purpose of the Turing Test.