Did J. Searle take everything into account when entering the Chinese Room?
https://doi.org/10.25206/2542-0488-2026-11-1-78-83
EDN: AFHRKU
Abstract
This article discusses the justification for John Searle’s criticism of the very possibility of strong artificial intelligence in light of the development of computations that implement the principles of organization and functioning of biological neural networks. Searle’s arguments are compared to the real-world situation that has developed within the evolution of technical systems. The subject of the study is the extent, to which his argumentation is relevant to specific types of artificial intelligence (expert systems, generative neural networks, etc.). The hypothesis is tested that Searle’s assertions underestimate the potential of neural networks to overcome the limitations of weak (non-autonomous) artificial intelligence. The author obtains a new result that reveals aspects of the ‘transcendental’ nature of Searle’s position, which broadly refers to biological naturalism.
About the Author
S. B. KulikovRussian Federation
KULIKOV Sergey Borisovich, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Associate Professor, Professor of the Philosophy, Media and Journalism Department
Tyumen
AuthorID (RSCI): 360577
AuthorID (SCOPUS): 56014624100
ResearcherID: I-2683-2014
References
1. Ayupov R. I. Dzhon Serl o semantike imen sobstvennykh [John Searle on the Semantics of Proper Names]. Istoriya Filosofii. 2025. Vol. 30, no. 1. P. 101–114. DOI: 10.21146/2074-5869-2025-30-1-101-114. EDN: KQLMJJ. (In Russ.).
2. Volkov D. B. Resheniye problemy mental’noy kauzal’nosti v biologicheskom naturalizme Dzh. Serla [Solving the Problem of Mental Causation in J. Searle’s Biological Naturalism]. Filosofskaya mysl’. Philosophical Thought. 2017. No. 2. P. 1–12. EDN: XXRCVX. (In Russ.).
3. Klenina E. A., Peskov A. E., Efremov V. S. Soznaniye v kontekste razrabotki iskusstvennogo intellekta: podkhod Dzh. Sërla [Consciousness in the Context of Artificial Intelligence Development: J. Searle’s Approach]. Sovremennyye issledovaniya sotsial’nykh problem. Russian Social and Humanitarian Studies. 2019. Vol. 11, no. 2-3. P. 54–60. EDN: MXNTJL. (In Russ.).
4. Mimenbaeva A. B. Argument Dzhona Serla ‘Kitayskaya komnata’ protiv funktsionalizma i sil’nom iskusstvennom intellekte [John Searle’s ‘Chinese Room’ Argument Against Functionalism and Strong Artificial Intelligence]. Nauchnaya diskussiya: innovatsii v sovremennom mire. Scientific Discussion: Innovation in the Contemporary World. 2016. No. 4-1(47). P. 39–42. EDN: VTZLXZ. (In Russ.).
5. Moskvitin V. A. Yazyk, znacheniye i real’nost’: ot dekonstruktsii Zhaka Derrida do teorii rechevykh aktov Dzhona Sërla [Language, Meaning, and Reality: From Jacques Derrida’s Deconstruction to John Searle’s Speech Act Theory]. Manuskript. Manuscript. 2025. Vol. 18, no. 1. P. 49–57. DOI: 10.30853/mns20250008. EDN: OZKUX. (In Russ.).
6. Savchenko I. S. Zalozhnik ‘Kitayskoy komnaty’ ili v poiskakh soznaniya u mashin [Hostage of the ‘Chinese Room’ or in Search of Machine Consciousness]. Zametki Uchenogo. 2020. No. 2. P. 138–143. EDN: RXVTVG. (In Russ.).
7. Searle J. R. Minds, Brains, and Programs. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 1980. Vol. 3, no. 3. P. 417–424. DOI: 10.1017/ S0140525X00005756.
8. Vasilyev V. V. Koka-kola i sekret ‘Kitayskoy komnaty’ [Coca-Cola and the Secret of the Chinese Room]. Filosofiya Soznaniya: Klassika i Sovremennost’. Vtoryye Gryaznovskiye Chteniya / Eds. V. V. Mironov, V. V. Vasilyev, V. I. Markin, F. I. Girenok, N. S. Iulina, E. V. Kosilova, D. K. Maslov. Moscow, 2007. P. 86–94. EDN: VTHRZF. (In Russ.).
9. Vityaev E. E., Goncharov S. S., Sviridenko D. I. O zadachnom podkhode v iskusstvennom intellekte i kognitivnykh naukakh [On the Task-Based Approach in Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Sciences]. Sibirskiy Filosofskiy Zhurnal. 2020. Vol. 18, no. 2. P. 5–29. DOI: 10.25205/2541-7517-2020-18-2-5-29. EDN: CXQHKE. (In Russ.).
10. Frankish K. What Are Large Language Models Doing? University of California, Riverside, Department of Philosophy, 7 June 2023. URL: https://www.keithfrankish.com/presentations/ what-are-large-language-models-doing/ (accessed: 10.10.2025).
11. Altehenger H., Menges L. The Point of Blaming AI Systems. Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy. 2024. Vol. 27, no. 2. DOI: 10.26556/jesp.v27i2.3060.
12. Gavryushin S. S., Meshchikhin I. A. Postroyeniye modeley i sistem upravleniya slozhnykh dinamicheskikh sistem na osnove ekspertnykh otsenok i eksperimental’nykh dannykh [Building Models and Control Systems for Complex Dynamic Systems Based on Expert Assessments and Experimental Data]. Dinamicheskiye i
13. Tekhnologicheskiye Problemy Mekhaniki Konstruktsiy i Sploshnykh Sred. Moscow, 2025. P. 61–63. EDN: JBQMXE. (In Russ.).
14. Amanova A., Yuzbashev S., Kurambaev D. Generativnyy iskusstvennyy intellekt: evolyutsiya, tekushchiye vozmozhnosti i eticheskiye vyzovy [Generative Artificial Intelligence: Evolution, Current Capabilities, and Ethical Challenges]. Vestnik Nauki. 2025. Vol. 2, no. 5 (86). P. 752–757. EDN: COPMPQ. (In Russ.).
15. Dubrovskiy D. I., Sergeev S. F. Metodologicheskiye problemy otsenki generativnogo iskusstvennogo intellekta [Methodological Issues in Evaluating Generative Artificial Intelligence]. Iskusstvennyy Intellekt. Teoriya i Praktika. 2023. No. 3. P. 2–10. EDN: TFUDCQ. (In Russ.).
16. McCulloch W. S., Pitts W. A. Logical Calculus of the Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity. Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics. 1943. Vol. 5, no. 4. P. 115–133. DOI: 10.1007/ BF02478259.
17. Rosenblatt F. Perceptual Generalization over Transformation Groups. Self-Organizing Systems / Ed. M. Yovits, S. Cameron. New York: Pergamon Press, 1960. P. 63–100.
18. Baron C. In Defense of Strong AI: Semantics as Second-Order Rules. Stance: An International Undergraduate Philosophy Journal. 2017. Vol. 10, no. 1. P. 38–49. DOI: 10.33043/ S.10.1.38-49.
19. Turing A. M. Computing Machinery and intelligence. Mind. 1950. Vol. 59, no. 236. P. 433–460. DOI: 10.1093/mind/ LIX.236.433.
20. Weizenbaum J. ELIZA — A Computer Program for the Study of Natural Language Communication Between Man and Machine. Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery. 1966. Vol. 9, no. 1. P. 36–45. DOI: 10.1145/365153.365168.
Review
For citations:
Kulikov S.B. Did J. Searle take everything into account when entering the Chinese Room? Omsk Scientific Bulletin. Series Society. History. Modernity. 2026;11(1):78-83. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.25206/2542-0488-2026-11-1-78-83. EDN: AFHRKU
JATS XML




















