Professor Patrick Winston, Former Director of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Dies At 76 (mit.edu) 39
Patrick Winston, a beloved professor and computer scientist at MIT, died on July 19 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He was 76. MIT News reports: A professor at MIT for almost 50 years, Winston was director of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory from 1972 to 1997 before it merged with the Laboratory for Computer Science to become MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). A devoted teacher and cherished colleague, Winston led CSAIL's Genesis Group, which focused on developing AI systems that have human-like intelligence, including the ability to tell, perceive, and comprehend stories. He believed that such work could help illuminate aspects of human intelligence that scientists don't yet understand. He was renowned for his accessible and informative lectures, and gave a hugely popular talk every year during the Independent Activities Period called "How to Speak." Winston's dedication to teaching earned him many accolades over the years, including the Baker Award, the Eta Kappa Nu Teaching Award, and the Graduate Student Council Teaching Award.
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To: Multiple recipients
Subject: Now that I'm dead
Message: Do you want to play a game of global thermonuclear war?
Learned a lot from him. He will be missed. (Score:5, Interesting)
He had one of the best series of lectures on AI on MIT open courseware
https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/el... [mit.edu]
It is dated now with the rise of convnets , but he really did a great overview.
Re: Learned a lot from him. He will be missed. (Score:2)
My old man was a school psychologist responsible for testing, he said he saw a decline in math aptitude with more computers. Something about working it out the slow way with a pencil made people faster and more rigorous. Remembering today is the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, and seeing our faces on our screens and our asses on the ground rather than space, I think you and him may be on to something.
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He had one of the best series of lectures on AI on MIT open courseware
Indeed. I watched the entire series. He also wrote one of the best Textbooks on Artificial Intelligence [amazon.com].
I never met him face-to-face, but I knew some of his students. They all felt he was one of the best professors at MIT, very approachable, always willing to give good advice, and a supporter of traditional nerd culture at MIT.
Knowledge about Knowledge is Power (Score:2)
I knew that name was familiar... (Score:2)
I have a 2nd edition copy of his book, 'Artificial Intelligence', from my Uni days back in the 80's.
I don't know how or why I remembered his name from over 30 years ago.
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A class act (Score:4, Interesting)
I'll always remember him as the guy who took a chance on hiring a 20 year old non-MIT student to work at the AI lab for six months on Richard Greenblatt's recomendation solely. That shot in the dark launched my career in AI, LISP, and 40 years later still going strong (now at IBM of all places). He was a consumate researcher but also a great administrator and teacher, and we could use more like him.
Fernando "Corby" Corbató (1926-2019) Multics (Score:1)
Fernando "Corby" Corbató (1926-2019) of MIT passed away too.
He was one of the team implementing Multics operating system having much of what was to be included in UNIX.
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That name rings a bell.
Oh yes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Oh lord, please don't let it be heat stroke! (Score:2)
Likely Story He didn't die (Score:2)
I saw this in a movie once. The Bad guy uploads his consciousness to the computer so he really lives on. Head of MIT AI dying... He must have figured out a way to live on in cyber space.