Brown apologises for Turing's treatment
Alan Turing is often referred to as the father of modern computing, but died age 41 as a result of a criminal conviction for being gay.
As reported by the BBC, the apology comes following a petition created by computer scientist John Graham-Cumming which asked for the government to apologise for their treatment of "the greatest computer scientist ever born in Britain" following his conviction for being gay - illegal at the time.
As a result of his sexuality, Turing - responsible for "help[ing to] break the Nazi Enigma code and [telling] us how to tell whether a machine could think" was forced to take chemical castration drugs to curb his libido and was forcibly removed from his work at the Government Communications Headquarters as a codebreaker - thought to be the reasons for his suicide by way of cyanide-laced apple aged 41.
In response to the petition - which gathered more than 30,000 signatures, including the support of noted atheist scientist Richard Dawkins and gay-rights campaigner Peter Tatchell - Brown has issued a statement saying "while Mr Turing was dealt with under the law of the time and we can't put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him."
Prime Minister Brown went on to say "on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan's work I am very proud to say: we're sorry, you deserved so much better."
Petition organisers have welcomed the apology, and are currently awaiting news following a request to the Queen for Turing to be awarded a posthumous knighthood for his services to the realm.
Have you ever used a Turing Test to see if an artificial intelligence can fool a human? Perhaps you've benefited from his work on 'universal machines,' the foundation for modern computing? Share your comments over in the forums.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyDont forget "Sorry" and "here, have my pension and costs back"
I've never understood retrospective apologies from people entirely unconnected with the thing they're apologising for. What did GB do that he feels he needs to apologise for? Of course it's pretty nasty that Turing was subjected to experimental chemical castration, but it wasn't Gordo's fault.
This thread shouldn't be about your feelings for Gordon Brown, it should be about the memory of Turing and what may have well been the most important influence in claiming victory in the European theatre during the second world war.
Turing and his team saved thousands of lives through their work cracking and undermining the German communications network and laid the foundations for computing as we know it today.
The man should have been treated as a national treasure, not villified for his sexuality.
I believe he had to give a 'personal' apology as he couldn't give an 'official' one as this has to be given to descendants of the person in question - and Turing has none. In this capacity he is apologising on behalf of the British Government rather than as himself
Exactly, an official apology is basically a pardoning. Effectively his crimes have now been ruled unlawful. Gordon's just the spokesman for the establishment, so naturally it would be him to deliver the apology. It's not Gordon personally saying he is sorry.
Actually it is going to change something. Not for Alan Turing, or for us, but for the history books and generations to come who will be taught from these: that a scientist was key in defeating a fascist empire and that him happening to be gay is casual trivia rather than a cause for persecution. it worked for Oscar Wilde: once society got past homosexuality it started seeing him as the great literary figure that he was.
One day perhaps people will be appreciated for their unique talents rather than judged on dumb prejudice.
Nah, not really. That's pretty much everything.
Now can we save Bletchley park?
If the man will do and say anything to get re-elected in the next nine months, why shouldn't it?
Last time I checked people could say what they wanted on this site and it would be the mods that would decide what was objectionable.
lol
Well he isn't, but it's like Tony Blair apologising for slavery, I cringed when I heard about that. He had nothing to do with it, and the people demanding an apology were not involved except it being the reason why they were in England at this time.
Slavery was terrible, we all know that, but the British aren't the only people responsible, while they're at it, why don't they demand public apologies from the tribes that willingly gave up their own people to be slaves in return for money/goods.
I recently heard about this guy being imprisoned for being gay and while people are free to believe what they think about homosexuality, to imprison some one for something they are, where they practise in the security of their own home with other consensual adults shouldn't have anything to do with those who aren't involved.
Gordon Brow's apology effectively means nothing, the same as if he hadn't said anything at all to be honest.
It goes without saying that it was an unlawful act what happened to this man, to apologise for it such a long time later is almost patronising and utterly pathetic.
Shouldn't the government be worrying about more important things?
What you say this apology is important for, seems to have apparently already happened.
It goes without saying that this was a big wrong, an apology changes nothing though.
What do you think will actually be remembered? The reason this man died, or Gordon's apology for it which by rights he shouldn't be able to make?
The King of Spain has just as much reason to apologise for this. (none at all)
Brown Making the apology and acknowledging Turing's part in making sure all of us don't speak german is entirely relevant.
Those who don't learn from history, are destined to repeat it and Brown's apology, on behalf of the government shows they're at least learning...
Agreed +1.
And yes, I think Browns apology was in place.
+1 gordo the clown is not even a good dictator, if he was i might not be so against the one eyed *****
D'you mock people for being in car accidents too? Ha Ha, look at that person there, they lost both their legs and will never walk again!
The man lost almost all of his sight playing Rugby as a young man. It's not something that should be open to mockery, and you should be ashamed of yourself for even bringing it up.
I also suggest you look up the term dictator, as you clearly lack understanding of what it is. Not to mention the far less presidential style of leadership Brown has persued, unlike Thatcher, or Blair.
"We" clearly didn't, if you're talking about we as a country, since "we" have voted Labour in three times consecutively.
And he is running our country into the dark ages.....
Well if Jeremy Clarkson said it, and you're repeating it....'nuff said I suppose.
Just a technical point, we don't vote for who will be in which poisition (ie PM), we merely vote for the party (candidate).
Luckily thanks to Gordon, Labour won't get a chance at a fourth term.....
I'm well aware of that. It depresses me that people would vote for a lying, rights destroying, war waging, scumbag like Blair three times in a row, but hate brown simply because his prime minisitership is occuring during a depresison.
This homosexual - committing a crime by simply being in love - was key in defeating the country's enemies. Then afterwards, as a "thank you", he was made to choose between prison or chemical castration. Nice.
I often use the 1950s "homosexuality is a disease/mental disorder"-mentality in arguments about the credibility of science. Science said homosexuality was weird, so it was true. Now science says that if you've ever smoked a cigarette your children will turn into cold-blooded child molesters, so it's true, right?
Adding to that the nerve of the Allied governments to wage war upon a nation (granted, war-waging nation; or as the playground saying goes: they started it) that made discrimination one of its prime policies; whilst said "liberating" nations exercised the same level (bar the death camps) of discrimination towards blacks, homosexuals, communists, etc.
I never lived in the 1950s, but my modern-day mind finds it sickening. And angering (if that's even a word).
The apology is an empty one: Gordon Brown, or the current British government, never wronged Alan Turing personally. But at least it recognises the nation's past mistakes, and hopefully makes some people realise what one smart guy did to help the nation's war efforts (for whatever reason they were fought). And it shows respect to what he did, not what he was.
He massively helped his nation whilst being considered "criminal" according to that nation's (silly) laws. That's being the bigger man for you!