s the ability to understand a language, then the computer also has that ability. Proponents of weak artificial intelligence have a much less forceful view which states that if a computer can pass the Turing test it is merely a successful model of the mind. In his essay, it is the strong AI proponents whom Searle is critiquing. Searle's argument against artificial intelligence can essentially be summed up in three simple statements: (1) Computer programs are formal/syntactic (2) Human minds have mental contents or semantics (3) Syntax by itself is neither constitutive of nor sufficient for semantics. From these three statements Searle concludes that, " Programs are neither constitutive of nor sufficient for minds."
             In order to illustrate his argument, Searle then utilizes the so called "Chinese room" argument. The Chinese room simulation commences with a person who has no knowledge of the Chinese language. This person is then placed into a room containing baskets full of Chinese symbols. In addition, this individual is provided with a rule book (in a language which he or she presumably understands) for matching Chinese symbols with other Chinese symbols. The rules identify these characters solely in terms of their shapes and do not require any comprehension of them. The argument then asks that you imagine that there are people outside the room who understand Chinese and who hand this person symbols which pose certain questions. In response, this person manipulates these symbols according to the provided rule book, and hands back certain symbols. The symbols that this individual returns, unknown to the person inside the room, are answers to the questions which these native Chinese speakers are posing. Furthermore, this rule book makes this person's answer
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