What does the “I'm not a robot” box actually test for?

You know the box “I am not a robot” Which you have to click to prove that you are a human user and not a robot? Why can't bots report a “simple” box? Despite reaching a level of intelligence and agility in movement that he had never reached before? I'm actually quite capable of clicking the box, but the “I'm not a robot” test is more complicated than it first appears.

In fact, behind the box “I'm not a robot” is hiding Recaptcha technologyor CAPTCHA an actress A fully automated public Turing test to distinguish computers from humans (i.e. “a fully automated general Turing test for distinguishing between computers and humans”). Although the Turing Test seems to many to be an outdated concept, this particular test analyzes (using a specific algorithm) behavior Which the user performs before and after clicking on the same box, thus being able to distinguish whether a human or a robot is behind these actions.

Among the different behaviors analyzed we find: Movements made using the mousethe Actions that are performed immediately after clickingthe Pages visited And so on. In newer versions of the test, these analyzes are performed without even having to check the box. Since robots usually make fairly organized and mechanical movements, for example along straight lines – unlike humans, who move the mouse cursor irregularly and randomly – the reCAPTCHA system's algorithm can easily distinguish between a human and a robot.

However, it should be noted that things may change in the future, as AI may be able to perfectly mimic human behavior to pass newer versions of the reCAPTHA test. At least that's what some computer experts, in particular Peter Bentley From University College London, who explained this in an article published on BBC Science Focus magazine.