In 65 Years, the Whole of Britain Apologized to Him Three Times

The portrait of Alan Turing, the "Father of Artificial Intelligence", will be printed on the 50-pound note issued at the end of 2021. Why was he chosen among so many important figures? Is this way enough to express apology and respect for him who died tragically 65 years ago?

In 2021, you will see Turing on the £50 note.

On July 15, the Bank of England, the central bank of the United Kingdom, announced that Alan Turing will appear on the new £50 note to pay tribute to the genius computer scientist.

This news once again sparked a wave of people's remembrance of Turing.

Turing made Hawking, Franklin and others lose the election

The 50-pound note is the highest-denomination note in the UK. Currently, the front of the note features the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, while the back features the portraits of Industrial Revolution pioneers James Watt and Matthew Boulton.

When the new banknotes are released, Turing's portrait will replace the two pioneers of the Industrial Revolution.

Last November, the Bank of England asked the public for their opinions on the new £50 note, and received227,299 nominations, involving989Eligible people. Among them,Hawking, Franklin, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcheretc. are all shortlisted candidates.

Turing eventually stood out from this group of people, which shows how popular he was among the majority of voters.

In addition to Turing's personal image, the new banknotes will also feature the machine Turing used to crack the German code. "British Bombe", And Turing’s famous quote from 1949: “This is only a foretaste of what is to come, and only the shadow of what is going to be.”

Did Turing need to apologize three times?

This move by the Bank of England may be the highest level of tribute to Turing, and it may also contain deep apologies to him.

In 1952, the fate of genius Turing began to turn sad. Turing, who was just 40 years old at the time, was convicted of homosexuality and chose the latter between imprisonment and chemical castration. He suffered so much that he could not even participate in the marathon he loved. Two years later, he chose to eat an apple coated with highly toxic potassium cyanide and left forever.

After Turing passed away,After 55 years of silence, the first belated apology was received, followed by two more.

**First apology:**In 2009, British computer scientist John Graham-Cumming launched a campaign to vindicate Turing, which had more than 30,000 signatures. British Prime Minister Brown had to issue a formal statement to apologize to Turing.

**Second apology:**On December 24, 2013, Queen Elizabeth II signed a pardon for Turing for "gross indecency", which took effect immediately. Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said Turing deserved the pardon: he should be remembered and recognized for his unparalleled contribution to the war, rather than for his subsequent criminal conviction.

**Third apology:**On April 20, 2016, Robert Hannigan, director of the Government Communications Headquarters, one of the three major British intelligence agencies that once discriminated against and persecuted Turing, made a rare statement and apologized for the intelligence agency's wrong treatment of Turing, the "father of artificial intelligence" in the 1950s.

According to the British “Guardian” report, Hannigan said at a conference that the way the Government Communications Headquarters treated geniuses such as Turing was wrong, "We should apologize for it." In his speech, he paid tribute to Turing, saying that "their torture is our loss and the country's loss."

Now, they feel that an apology is not enough and want him to be printed on the largest denomination banknote to commemorate him.Again****No matter how many apologies are made, it is difficult to forget the baseless accusations Turing suffered, and the despair and humiliation of being misunderstood before the end of his life.

In addition, from another perspective, does Turing need to apologize? Perhaps geniuses are often not understood by ordinary people. They are lonely and proud. Just like the discussion on "How to evaluate Turing" on Zhihu, the most agreed answer is: "In 2013, Queen Elizabeth II pardoned him. However, I don't think he needs anyone's pardon, and no one is qualified to pardon him."

Genius Turing, well deserved

Why choose Turing?

We have written in the article On this day in 1954, Turing chose to leave this worldThe book summarizes the honors and humiliations of Turing's life. The honors he received and the contributions he made to the world made him worthy of being selected as a new banknote figure.

In 1936, when Turing was 24 years old and studying at Cambridge University, he proposed **"algorithm"**and The two core concepts of "computers" are recognized as the founding works of computer science and have benefited us to this day.

In 1941, during World War II, Turing led a team that successfully cracked the German cipher system Enigma. Historians believe that this cracking technology helped end World War II at least two years earlier.Saved 20 million peoplelife.

In 1950, he published a paperComputing Machinery and Intelligence(Computing Machinery and Intelligence), explored the science of artificial intelligence and proposed the famous The Turing Test.

However, his brilliant ideas came to an abrupt end in 1954.

June 7, 1954Turing left the world two weeks before his 42nd birthday, leaving behind only his outstanding achievements in the fields of computers and artificial intelligence.

Choosing to print him on the new British banknotes also means that his ideas still have a profound impact on the world.

The man is gone, but the tribute never stops

In fact,From the 1960s to the present, people's respect and remembrance of Turing have never stopped.

In 1966, the Turing Award, named after Turing, was established.

On June 23, 2001, Turing’s birthday,Alan Turing MemorialUnveiled, the statue is located just off Canal Street in Manchester's Gay Village.

Over the years, there have been many film and television works about Turing, such as "The Biography of Alan Turing" and "The Imitation Game", allowing people to see his legendary life on the screen.

To this day, Turing's name remains the benchmark for artificial intelligence testing. Now, many people in the computer field stand on the shoulders of this giant.

If he were still alive, he would be 107 years old this year. If he could live a few more decades, how different would the world be because of him?

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