15th February 2011
The Machine Age
“Forty years ago this December, President Nixon declared a war on cancer, pledging a “total national commitment” to conquering the disease. Fifty years ago this spring, President Kennedy declared a space race, promising to land a man safely on the moon before the end of the decade. And 54 years ago, Artificial Intelligence pioneer Herbert Simon declared that “there are now in the world machines that think” and predicted that a computer would be world chess champion within 10 years. How have these bold efforts fared?
