The mathematician Marvin Minsky (1927-2016) will be remembered as one of the greatest drivers of technological development of the 20th century. In 1959, together with the cognitive scientist John McCarthy, he founded the Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Sciences of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , which today is one of the world’s leading institutions in computational biology. robotics, computer theory and learning systems.
Minsky viewed the brain as a machine whose functions could be studied and emulated by a computer. In fact, in 1956, during a famous conference at Dartmouth University, in Hanover (New Hampshire), he introduced the term artificial intelligence (AI), which would become known worldwide.
Over the years, Minsky would become one of the greatest defenders of transhumanism, a philosophical and intellectual movement that believes that it is necessary to use technology to enhance our capabilities , avoid suffering and old age and, ultimately, achieve immortality.
In 1957, Minsky patented a confocal sample display system that would lead to great advances in light microscopy . In the following decades, he participated in the development of ARPAnet, the network on which the current internet would later be based, and conceived the Theory of the society of the mind , which he embodied in a book of the same name. This considers that the cognitive systems that have evolved naturally are nothing more than a society made up of a large number of simple individual processes. Together, they give rise to the abilities we attribute to the mind.
Among other awards, Minsky received the Turing Prize, in 1969, for his decisive contributions to the field of AI, the Benjamin Franklin Medal, in 2001, or the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award, in 2013. These are some of his reflections:
“When the computers take over, we may not get it back. We’ll survive on their whim. Hopefully, they’ll decide to keep us as pets.” In Life magazine (November 1970).
“Our culture conceives emotions as something more complex and obscure than the intellect (…). Actually, I think that today we know much more about emotion than about reason.” In Music, Mind and Meaning (1981).
“The ‘laws of thought’ depend not only on the properties of brain cells, but on the way they are connected.” In The society of the mind (1987).
“What is the magic trick that makes us smart? The trick is that there is no trick. The power of intelligence emanates from our vast diversity, not from a single perfect principle.” In The society of the mind (1987).
“Will robots inherit Earth? Yes, but they will be our children.” In Scientific American magazine (October 1994).
“Machines will be able to do whatever people do, because people are nothing more than machines.” In Muy Interesante magazine (October 1996).
“We are still prone to doctrines, philosophies and beliefs, which spread across entire civilizations. It is difficult to imagine a surefire way to protect ourselves from such infections. The best we can do is educate our children in critical thinking and scientific verification methods “. In the Machine of emotions (2006).
“One day we will be able to achieve immortality. We will make copies of our brains. We may create them in a laboratory or simply download their content to a computer.” In XLSemanal magazine (June 2014).
“What are we people but highly evolved machines?” During the delivery of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards (June 2014).
“To date, a computer has not been designed that is aware of what it is doing, but most of the time, neither are we.” Attributed.
Image: Seth Woodworth via Flickr / CC
