The essential argument was between artificial intelligence (John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Herbert A Simon, based around MIT, CMU and Stanford SAIL) and computer augmentation of human thought (Vannevar Bush, Douglas Engelbart, based around Stanford's SRI and, later, Xerox PARC). There was some bad blood between the two groups; bear that in mind if you read historical documents.
Good Old Fashioned AI is now widely seen as having limited success. The predictions of practitioners of the time now look a little fantastical. Many of the algorithms of the era are today learned and used without the related claims of 'intelligence'. Augmentation of human thought was a dramatic success. The smartphone is pretty much an implementation of Bush and Engelbart's wildest dreams. -glen _______________________________________________ Link mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
