His classic book, Computer Power and Human Reason, should be required reading for everyone on this list.
from the MIT news office: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/obit-weizenbaum-0310.html Joseph Weizenbaum, professor emeritus of computer science, 85 March 10, 2008 Joseph Weizenbaum, professor emeritus of computer science at MIT who grew skeptical of artificial intelligence after creating a program that made many users feel like they were speaking with an empathic psychologist, died March 5 in Berlin. He was 85. Weizenbaum, who was Jewish, fled Nazi Germany with his parents and arrived in the United States in the mid-1930s. At the beginning of his career with computers, in the early 1950s, he worked on analog computers; later, he helped design and build a digital computer at Wayne University in Detroit, Mich. In 1955, Weizenbaum became a member of the General Electric team that designed and built the first computer system dedicated to banking operations. Among his early technical contributions were the list processing system SLIP and the natural language understanding program ELIZA, which was an important development in artificial intelligence and cemented his role in the folklore of computer science research. ELIZA was perhaps the first instance of what today is known as a chatterbot program. Specifically, the ELIZA program simulated a conversation between a patient and a psychotherapist by using a person's responses to shape the computer's replies. Weizenbaum was shocked to discover that many users were taking his program seriously and were opening their hearts to it. The experience prompted him to think philosophically about the implications of artificial intelligence, and, later, to become a critic of it. Weizenbaum joined MIT's faculty in the 1960s. In 1976, he authored "Computer Power and Human Reason," in which he displayed ambivalence toward computer technology. "'Computer Power and Human Reason' raised questions about the role of artificial intelligence, and spurred debate about the role of computer systems in decision making for many years," said Eric Grimson, head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. Weizenbaum's more recent book, "Kurs auf den Eisberg" (Course on the Iceberg), dealt with the difficult role of the scientist in an immoral world. Weizenbaum held academic appointments at Harvard University, at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, the Technical University of Berlin and the University of Hamburg in Germany. He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the New York Academy of Science and of the European Academy of Science. ------------------------------------------- agi Archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/ Modify Your Subscription: http://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=95818715-a78a9b Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
