Celebrating the Genius of Alan Turing
|
|
|
Photo: University of Manchester |
|
Alan Turing |
Widely considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, Alan Turing was honored for his genius on the special occasion of the centenary of his birth. Some of the best known figures in the world of information science gathered at the Alan Turing Centenary Conference, supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation (JTF), held recently in Manchester, United Kingdom.
The conference was convened in conjunction with the Turing Centenary Research Fellowship and Scholarship Competition, leading to a three-year research project called “Mind, Mechanism and Mathematics”—also sponsored by JTF—to identify and support young researchers who demonstrate “exceptional cognitive talents and genius” in the fields in which Turing made such significant contributions.
Turing’s work ranged across the predictable and the uncertain, the concrete and the intuitive, the physical and the abstract. He tackled practical problems and made technological breakthroughs. He was drawn to the fundamental scientific issues behind the Big Questions and was interested in the more meaningful dimensions of human existence, an attitude that Sir John Templeton would have very much appreciated.
Sir John believed that genius is a great engine of human progress. “History abounds with stories of great minds that have gifted humanity with wonderful discoveries and inventions,” he wrote. Turing’s genius contributed to understanding some of the deep and intractable questions that face science concerning the way the human mind works, computational understandings of the natural world, and how mathematics can be deployed to explore these areas.
|
|
|
| Photo: University of Manchester |
|
| Frederick Brooks |
|
Moreover, the rapid development of computer science is largely due to Turing. His seminal 1936 paper, On Computable Numbers, defined two key ideas. First, Turing introduced the machine model of algorithms, so basic to modern computer science; second, he formulated the notion of the universal computing machine, anticipating the stored program computer. Today’s smartphone or supercomputer is essentially a universal Turing machine. He also mapped out the limitations of computers in this paper and in one published in 1939. Turing’s work in this area also formed the underpinning of his celebrated contribution to the breaking of enemy military codes at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. His achievements proved invaluable in the Allied war effort, shortening the conflict by an estimated two years.
Some of Turing’s most original work was on morphogenesis, investigating how natural processes give rise to form and shape—examples include zebras’ stripes or forms found in whorled leaves. Turing’s work raises Big Questions concerning chaotic environments: how the genuinely new emerges in nature, how systems organize themselves, and how randomness gives rise to surprising regularities. Turing’s most cited paper, The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis, has been regarded as a formative contribution to chaos theory.
Another area of Turing’s expertise is artificial intelligence (AI). It prompts another set of Big Questions around the nature of creativity, whether machines can be intelligent, and whether it might one day be possible to build an artificial brain. Turing devised the famous Turing test to assess the success of AI. In a paper entitled Computing Machinery and Intelligence, he proposed that a machine should be judged intelligent if a human being could not tell the difference between the responses of the machine and a human being. Deep challenges are still faced by researchers in this field.
|
|
|
Photo: University of Manchester |
|
Jack Copeland |
The conference included talks delivered by Honorary Chairs Rodney Brooks, Panasonic Professor of Robotics at MIT, and the distinguished physicist Sir Roger Penrose, as well as Professor Jack Copeland, Director of the Turing Archive for the History of Computing, who will write about Turing in a series of four essays for JTF’s publication, Big Questions Online. Other speakers included the 2004 Templeton Prize Laureate, George Ellis, and nine winners of the Turing Award, the prestigious prize given by the Association for Computer Machinery. Recordings of the talks are available online.
The eight winners of the “Mind, Mechanism and Mathematics” research competition were also honored at the conference—five as JTF Turing Research Fellows and three as JTF Turing Research Scholars. “The next three years will be very exciting,” said Professor Barry Cooper, Chair of the Turing Centenary Committee and leader of the competition. “We are very fortunate to have eight such brilliant young researchers carrying forward the Turing research agenda. The support of the JTF for this adventurous project is very timely.”
The event prompted extensive media attention, including a BBC series of articles about the centenary and The Huffington Post reportage of Garry Kasparov winning a game of computer chess programmed by Turing more than 60 years ago.
One of the conference organizers, Professor Andrei Voronkov, noted that the meetings were “aimed at pushing forward our understanding of the most fundamental and important issues in information science and artificial intelligence” and the event was a celebration of Turing’s genius, remembered in this remarkable centenary year.
The Evolution of Cooperation
Martin Nowak believes that cooperation is fundamental in evolution. The groundbreaking work of the Harvard mathematician and biologist was featured in the July 2012 issue of Scientific American in an article entitled “Why We Help: The Evolution of Cooperation.” His research is supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
Nowak argued that examples of selfless behavior abound in nature. “Cells within an organism coordinate to keep their division in check,” he wrote. “[F]emale lions within a pride will suckle one another’s young.” Each case implies a lowering of reproductive success for the benefit of others. This challenges the “dog-eat-dog” survival of the fittest interpretation of evolution.
Nowak believes he has identified five mechanisms by which cooperation may arise in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. Cooperation is particularly striking in humans because of the phenomenon of indirect reciprocity. Arguably, it provides the basis for reputation and leads us to help those who help others.
A Celebration of Spirit
This year’s celebrations marking the centenary of the birth of Sir John Templeton continued with a series of events in his hometown of Winchester, Tennessee, and the surrounding area. “A Celebration of Spirit” honored Winchester for the way its virtues and values shaped those of Sir John throughout his childhood and early adult life. “The Winchester area had a profound impact on my dad as he grew up,” said Dr. Jack Templeton, president and chairman of the John Templeton Foundation.
More than 3,000 area residents attended “Spirit on the Square” in downtown Winchester. The centerpiece of the event was the 25 nonprofit organizations that created displays around the town square, showcasing the values of Sir John’s Laws of Life, which include love, gratitude, integrity, humility, progress, perseverance, and forgiveness. Prizes were awarded, joint first place going to Raise a Reader in Franklin County and the Southern Tennessee Ladies’ Society. A main stage featured nationally renowned and local musical acts and performers, including award-winning country music duo Joey+Rory, along with entertainment for the whole family.
The winners of the Franklin County Laws of Life Essay Contest were also announced at the event. The contest, open to Franklin County citizens of all ages, was sponsored by the Winchester Garden Association in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Laws of Life essay contest established by Sir John in Winchester in 1987. Essayists explored their own life experience within the perspective of the Laws of Life and used the competition as an opportunity for self-discovery.
A Laws of Life Youth Summit was also held in celebration of the contest’s anniversary. Fifteen high school student winners of the Laws of Life essay contest from the US and the UK, along with 10 sponsors, took part in a four-day program at the nearby University of the South in Sewanee. The Youth Summit focused on developing leadership skills, reflection, facilitation, communication, and cultivating a sense of purpose as well as emphasizing the application of the virtues and positive values exemplified in the Laws of Life.
Finally, more than 400 invited participants attended “Spiritual Progress and Human Flourishing” conference on June 25, also at the University of the South. Experts discussed research on themes including love, forgiveness, spiritual progress, and cosmic spirituality.
