Benedict Cumberbatch Reads a Letter Alan Turing Wrote in “Distress” Before His Conviction For “Gross Indecency”

A pioneer of computer science, Alan Turing’s name comes up in nearly every conversation about artificial intelligence. His “Turing Test” purports to indicate whether and when a machine has acquired intelligence and ability indistinguishable from that of a human, and his work with the Bletchley Park cryptography group during WWII helped the British break the Enigma code used by the Nazis. Those who came to learn about Turing from the recent biopic The Imitation Game, with Benedict Cumberbatch starring as the tormented mathematician, know this part of his life in particular, as well as the part of his life that tragically led to his early death at age 41.
Turing was gay, but forced to hide it because of British law. In 1952, he was convicted of “gross indecency” for his relationship with another man. Before pleading guilty to the supposed offence, Turing wrote the letter to his colleague and friend Norman Routledge.