Chinese Room Thought Experiment

The Chinese Room Thought Experiment, proposed by philosopher John Searle, questions whether a computer truly “understands” language. Imagine a person inside a room receiving Chinese characters, using a set of rules to produce appropriate responses without understanding Chinese. To outside observers, it appears the person understands Chinese, but in reality, they are just following programmed instructions. The experiment suggests that even if a computer can convincingly simulate understanding, it might not genuinely comprehend, prompting us to consider the difference between symbol manipulation and real understanding or consciousness.