The Chinese Room (thought experiment)

The Chinese Room is a thought experiment created by philosopher John Searle to question whether a computer can truly understand language. Imagine a person inside a room who doesn't speak Chinese but follows a set of rules to manipulate Chinese symbols. To outsiders, it appears that the person understands Chinese, as they can respond correctly to questions. However, the person doesn't comprehend the language; they're simply following instructions. This scenario highlights the difference between simulating understanding and actual comprehension, suggesting that artificial intelligence, like the computer in this analogy, may lack true understanding despite performing intelligent-seeming tasks.