---
title: "The David Sabine Test™"
description: "The Turing Test asks if a machine can pass as human. The David Sabine Test flips it: a person must prove they are not a machine."
canonical_url: "https://davesabine.com/articles/2026/01/the-david-sabine-testtm"
---

> Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://davesabine.com/llms.txt)

## I’m calling it **The David Sabine Test™**

It’s increasingly difficult to publish something online and signal to others that you’re a real person.

> A human passes The David Sabine Test when others can clearly tell they’re interacting with a human.
> 
> A human fails the test when they cannot be distinguished from a computer.

In the present day, we are flooded with AI-generated content. It floods social media, blogs, forums, even the articles of reputable journals. Readers wonder: is this human or LLM?

This is the opposite of Alan Turing’s test. (Not just the reverse. The total opposite.)

### A History Lesson: *Alan Turing to Present Day*

<float-right>
<captioned-image alt="Alan Turing Portrait" caption="Portrait of Alan Mathison Turing. Photo credit: Walter Stoneman, Royal Society 1951" src="/articles/2026/01/alan-turing.jpg">



</captioned-image>
</float-right>

- 1950: Alan Turing, the world’s first Computer Scientist, asked: Can a machine imitate a human so well that a person can’t tell the difference? That question became known as **The Turing Test**.
- 2022: ChatGPT launched on November 30 and passed the test. Many millions of people are routinely fooled by AI-generated text, images, and video.
- 2026: The new challenge for humans is extravagantly ironic: **We must now prove we’re not machines. I call this The David Sabine Test™**.

### Iterations of the Problem

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Iteration
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Name
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Core Idea
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      1
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The Turing Test
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Human thinks the machine is human.
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      2
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Reverse Turing (eg., captcha)
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Prove you’re human to a machine.
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      3
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The David Sabine Test™
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Prove you’re human to another <em>
        <strong>
          human
        </strong>
      </em>
      
      .
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The David Sabine Test™ is deeply personal. It’s my struggle to sound like me while convincing you that you’re reading my words, seeing a real photo, or watching a video I captured with my own camera.

It’s also your struggle. It is **‘The Your Name Test’**. You face the same challenge: can you post anything online that others will know came from your own hand?

Given the capabilities of AI, the test will only get harder. You are being tested in a new way. This is a test of your *self*. A test of your ability to express your *self* in a way that others are able to know it’s really *you*.

Good luck.

Sincerely,<br />


Me.<br />


(I promise. It’s me. Truly. *Really! It is!*)

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](https://davesabine.com/sitemap.md) for all pages.