Turing's Test and the ideology of artificial intelligence

A close examination is offered of the Turing Test, whose lasting influence is ascribed to its power as a myth which is expressive of the ideology that underlies strong AI claims. Arguments are advanced to show that the Test is not a bonafide thought-experiment, nor an acceptable substitute for the question, Can a Machine Think? AI work is held to be highly valuable, but by reason of its achievement of thought-like results through the power of algorithms, not through its supposed emulation of thought. Finally, evidence is offered for thinking that the issue at hand is not only a practical, but an urgent one.