"THE THINKING MACHINE" 1968 NEW JERSEY BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY MIT COMPUTERS EDUCATIONAL FILM 61454

Summary

This 1968 educational film from New Jersey Bell asks a classic question: do computers really think? Using playful narration and examples from science fiction, the film explores several meanings of “thinking,” including memory, logic, visualization, recognition, language, feeling, and creativity. It shows how computers excel at storing information, making logical decisions, and simulating images or designs, while also pointing out their limitations in recognizing patterns, translating language, and expressing emotion or original creativity. By the end, the film argues that computers are powerful tools created by humans, capable of astonishing speed and accuracy, but still dependent on programming and unable to fully match human thought. Its final answer is deliberately open-ended: whether computers think depends on how you define thinking.

Highlights

• The film opens by poking fun at sci-fi computers that seem to think a little too hard 🤖
• It compares early memory aids like pebbles, carvings, and light switches to computer storage 🪨
• A chess-playing computer at MIT shows how logic can look a lot like thought ♟️
• The film explains how computers help run massive telephone switching systems 📞
• It demonstrates computer-generated pictures, animations, and even music 🎶
• The ending leaves viewers with the idea that computers perform thinking-like processes, but maybe not thinking itself 🧠

Key Takeaways

• Computers are amazing at memory and can recall data fast ⚡
• Logic is where computers really shine, especially in decision-making 🔀
• They can visualize and simulate designs in ways humans can use creatively 🖥️
• Recognition and language translation were still major challenges in 1968 🤔
• Computers don’t feel emotions or get bored, which makes them great for repetitive work 😎
• Creativity can be simulated, but the film argues it still belongs mostly to humans 🎨

Overview

The film starts with a playful question: if science-fiction machines can think, what about real computers? It walks through dictionary-style meanings of thinking and begins with memory, showing that computers are incredibly good at storing and retrieving information. The film then connects modern computer memory to simpler human memory aids, like pebbles, symbols, and switches, before moving into binary storage and magnetic memory.

Next, the film focuses on logic and visualization. It uses chess, electronic circuits, and telephone switching systems to show how computers can perform huge numbers of logical operations quickly and accurately. It also shows computers creating visual simulations and helping scientists design circuits, proving that they can process abstract data into useful images and models.

The film then turns to what computers still struggle with: recognition, language translation, emotion, and true creativity. It points out that computers can identify simple patterns but have trouble generalizing or translating idioms. While they can generate art, animation, and music, the film concludes that these abilities come from human-created programs. The final takeaway is that computers are incredibly useful tools, but whether they truly “think” depends on how you define the word.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 02:30: Science Fiction and the Myth of Thinking Machines The chapter opens by contrasting fictional computers that seem to think, feel, and make decisions with the question of whether real computers actually think. To answer that, it first defines thinking in a basic way and focuses on memory and recall as one important aspect. The transcript explains that computers can store and retrieve information extremely well, and that this automatic memory function is central to how they operate once programmed.
• 02:30 - 05:00: From Counting Pebbles to Symbolic Memory This chapter traces the evolution of memory from simple physical substitutes, like pebbles, carved marks, and strings on fingers, to more organized symbolic systems such as frames for counting. It explains that these methods work by storing information externally so it can be retrieved later without relying on human recall alone.
• 05:00 - 07:30: Logic, Chess, and Computer Decision-Making This segment explains how computers use logic to make decisions, using a chess-playing MIT computer as an example. A human enters the chess move, the machine processes it through logical operations, and then it outputs its next move. The narration shows that simple logic circuits—built from switches arranged as AND/OR combinations—are the foundation of more complex computer systems, including a telephone switching office that makes millions of decisions daily. It also notes that computers excel at handling abstract data and generating visual output on screens, even if they are less imaginative than humans.
• 07:30 - 10:00: Modeling Motion and Simulating Real-World Systems This segment explains how computers can model complex motion, such as an orbiting satellite, and simulate real-world systems like an electronic circuit before they are physically built. It then contrasts computers' strengths in logic and image formation with their weaknesses in recognition and understanding. Examples include reading bank checks and typed ZIP codes, while more general tasks like recognizing varied symbols or translating language remain difficult because computers still struggle to generalize and understand context.
• 10:00 - 12:30: Translation, Language, and the Limits of Meaning This segment examines the limits of machine translation and definition by contrasting literal word-for-word correspondence with the absurd results that can occur when idioms are translated mechanically. It then turns to the word “to think,” noting that while humans can feel and show consideration, computers are described as emotionless, impartial, and tireless machines that can only simulate feelings. Finally, the discussion moves to “creativity,” presenting it as a distinctly human trait that computers have not yet genuinely achieved, even if they can be programmed to imitate creative output.
• 12:30 - 15:00: Computer Art, Animation, and Music Creation Computers are shown creating visual art, animated films, and music, highlighting that machines can generate creative outputs beyond calculation. The segment emphasizes that while computers can produce pictures, animation, and music, their real value lies in their usefulness and efficiency, enabled by human-written programs.
• 15:00 - 17:30: What Does It Mean for a Machine to Think? The speaker questions whether flawless computation alone means a machine can think, suggesting that the answer depends on how thinking is defined. The segment emphasizes that machines may perform processes similar to human thought, but the meaning of 'thinking' remains open and ambiguous.

"THE THINKING MACHINE" 1968 NEW JERSEY BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY MIT COMPUTERS EDUCATIONAL FILM 61454 Transcription

• Segment 1: 00:00 - 02:30 [Music] [Applause] when the heel of any up-to-date science-fiction show has a problem he usually turns to his trusty computer for an answer somehow or other science fiction computers always manage to think of something [Music] sometimes they think so hard they get uptight they blow their cool this computerized robot spent the better part of a one-hour TV show thinking himself into falling in love with another robot of course but how about real-life computers do the so-called Thinking Machines really think well do computers really think to answer that we'll have to find out what the word think means let's see if our computerized friend can help my data bank dictionary has many definitions of barber - thanks but what's the first one please - thank truth call to mind to remember people can't always recall things the instant they want to but storing information and recalling it is something electronic computers do remarkably well in fact it is disability that makes their operation automatic once programmed it can refer to its own memory for instructions and data of course memory devices aren't new
• Segment 2: 02:30 - 05:00 they came into existence as soon as man learned he could use substitutes or symbols to represent the things he wanted to remember the next time he wanted to know how many cows he owned he could refer to the sack of pebbles instead of rounding up the herd again put the pebbles on a frame and numbers could be stored simply by changing the pebbles positions mechanical memories use all kinds of symbols such as lines carved and marble so you won't forget the glory of the past or strings on fingers so you won't forget to pay your light bill [Music] the familiar light switch is much closer in time and spirit to the kind of memory computers actually use lamp on lamp off either way this simple equipment is one bit or binary digit of information with more lamps greater quantities of information can be stored but mechanical switches and lamps are too slow modern computers use fast magnetic memory devices [Music] such as tapes or disks stacked like jukebox records or tiny cores woven together like indian deeds large computers use these and other types of memory devices to achieve tremendous storage capacities the computer being queried by this librarian can give her instant information on the whereabouts of any of the thousands of books in her charge if remembering were the only definition of thinking we'd have to put computers in the mental giant category it is not to think so subject to the process of logical thought playing chess certainly
• Segment 3: 05:00 - 07:30 involves a high degree of logic and this computer at MIT has been programmed to play a very respectable game it's human opponent studies his move on an actual chess board before feeding it into the computer the computer then performs logic operations to determine its next move and displays it on this screen it is even won first place in an amateur tournament but how can a collection of wired Hardware be capable of logic basically logic is a predictable series of facts or events such as closing this switch and this one to ring the bell in fact computer people call this a logic and circuit the same components can be rewired into a logic or circuit to ring the bell by closing either this switch or this one and or and many other kinds of elementary logic circuits are the basic building blocks that form the complex logic networks we call computers the computer controlling this electronic telephone switching office makes millions of logical decisions every day all with the infallible logic it takes to quickly connect to telephone to any of the more than 100 million other telephones in this country that would be pretty good thinking if logic were the only definition there is also visualization to think to form a mental picture of all of us are capable of translating symbols into mental images but computers aren't nearly as imaginative they are very good however at taking abstract data processing it and producing pictures on cathode ray tubes
• Segment 4: 07:30 - 10:00 these are the complex motions of an orbiting satellite as seen from outer space even more interesting is the computers ability to simulate designs or systems this scientist at Bell Telephone laboratories is designing an electronic circuit by drawing with a light pen on the face of a television screen connected to a computer he can make changes in the design and simulate its operation without the necessity of actually building it [Music] when it comes to memory logic for forming images we computers are pretty good thinkers just a minute aren't there any other definitions yes Joe thank toh perceive or recognize Mary when it comes to recognition computers are still pretty inept they can be made to see by means of optical or magnetic sensors such as those used by this bank cheque reader but so far computers are limited to recognizing simple well-defined patterns like post office zip code numbers provided they're typed and properly positioned [Music] but teaching a computer to generalize to recognize that all these symbols mean the same thing is more difficult when it comes to language translation computers aren't very bright either some progress is being made but the problems are enormous essentially they boil down to one fact there is no such thing as an
• Segment 5: 10:00 - 12:30 absolute one-to-one correspondence between the words of one language and those of another for example when out-of-sight out-of-mind was put through one translating computer it came out as the foreign language equivalent of invisible imbecile imagine what mechanical translation would do the slang it is a frightening thought may I go on to the next definition to think to have feeling or consideration for computer programmers have been known to fall in love with their computers but no computer was ever observed returning the sentiment in fact computers are absolutely devoid of feelings and a good thing too they neither play favorites with programmers nor get angry at their mistakes best of all they never get bored like other machines they can do the same monotonous chores all day long without complaining but they can be programmed to simulate human emotions getting our tea I'll bet your next definition involves creativity right to think to create or devise creativity a word just as hard to define as thinking still seems to be a uniquely human capability so far no computer has ever composed a hit song painted a beautiful picture or designed an original dragster but computers can be programmed to appear
• Segment 6: 12:30 - 15:00 creative all these pictures were drawn by computers [Music] [Music] a computer has been used to produce animated pictures as well one animated film produced by a computer is on the subject of producing animated films on a computer the technique has already produced some interesting results like the pictures the music you are listening to was also produced by a computer [Music] [Music] [Applause] the computer an ingenious collection of electronic hardware was created by man it is also man who creates two programs that make the computer the useful tool that it is without a program a computer is no more productive than a player piano without a music roll or a jukebox without a record [Applause] still whether the big machines are creative or not is irrelevant when you consider their usefulness and efficiency billions of correct mathematical operations between errors the equivalent
• Segment 7: 15:00 - 17:30 of a thousand people computing for a lifetime without making a mistake but do they think well let's say they carry out some processes that are similar to human thought or better yet let's just say it all depends on what you mean by thinking [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music]