# We Cannot Define Thinking Clearly Enough to Judge Machines by John McCarthy > "It's difficult to be rigorous about whether a machine really knows or thinks, because we're hard put to define these things." > **— John McCarthy**, *The Little Thoughts of Thinking Machines (1983), excerpt candidate* Verification Status: Unverified — exact wording/source has not yet been independently confirmed against a primary source; source clue: The Little Thoughts of Thinking Machines (1983), excerpt candidate. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Escape Hatch in the Skull|Escape Hatch in the Skull]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/Science of Digital Consciousness|Science of Digital Consciousness]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Consciousness|Consciousness]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - [[wiki/Consciousness|Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Consciousness Indicators|Consciousness Indicators]] - [[wiki/Machine Consciousness|Machine Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Hard Problem of Consciousness|Hard Problem of Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Digital Minds|Digital Minds]] - [[wiki/Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "It's difficult to be rigorous about whether a machine really knows or thinks, because we're hard put to define these things." — John McCarthy, The Little Thoughts of Thinking Machines (1983), excerpt candidate https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-john-mccarthy-define-clearly-judge-machines ```