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arXiv · 2609.18394

Cultural Competence in Context: A Large Language Model Passes the Turing Test in Finland

Abstract

We report the results of a Turing Test conducted in Finland in the Finnish language. Because languages and cultural contexts are unevenly represented in LLM training data, we expected the model (ChatGPT 5.2) to perform worse in a Finnish-language Turing Test than in previously studied English-language US contexts. We also present model-generated role prompting as a replicable technique for conducting comparative LLM-based Turing Tests designed to improve construct validity. Contrary to our expectations, the LLM passed the Finnish Turing Test. A prominent source of error was participants' reliance on linguistic cues, particularly colloquial Finnish, as markers of human authorship. We reframe the Turing Test from a test of intelligence to a comparative method for examining whether an AI system can display credible membership in a particular social world. Because its outcome reflects model capabilities, prompted identity, insider competence among human participants, and their AI literacy, the method provides a useful probe of the human-machine boundary across domains.

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Otto Segersven, Pentti Henttonen. 2026-09-16. Cultural Competence in Context: A Large Language Model Passes the Turing Test in Finland. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.18394

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