>"i just can't...... go along with "AI" when no machine / software combo has plausibly passed the Turing Test."
Forget "AI" for a moment and just think of processing power, like breath and speed. Would you want evil enemies to have a large advantage over your team with processing power? Would you even want "well-intentioned" stupid shits running things with that toy at their disposal?
My understanding of Turing test is very limited and simple, but seems to me that if one responder gave immediate intelligent responses and the other needed time, I'd guess that the one replying before I blinked was the machine.
(Got my 2 hr sleep after winding down and a bite to eat.)