The inquisitive minds of mankind have been thinking about the creation of calculating and computing mechanisms since ancient times. A modern computer, which today is available in almost every apartment, can rightfully be considered the result of these efforts. John McCarthy contributed to this.
Childhood
Science fiction writers have come up with robots a long time ago. And not only invented, but also described in detail the abilities of these machines, which are created by human hands. However, the realization of these fantasies in everyday life is very slow. Real projects in this field of knowledge began to create John McCarthy in the mid-twentieth century. By that time, powerful electronic computers, which could be called prototypes of industrial robots, were already being produced in civilized countries.
The future creator of artificial intelligence was born on September 4, 1927 in a family of immigrants. Parents at that time lived in the famous city of Boston. His father, a native of Ireland, took an active part in the trade union movement. Mother, a Jewish woman from Lithuania, worked as a journalist in a city newspaper. When the Great Depression broke out all over the world, including in the USA, parents had to travel around the country for a while in search of decent living conditions. This place was Los Angeles.
Here John went to school. It is interesting to note that the boy learned to read early. He was attracted to technical books and magazine articles. When he got the instructions for servicing the Singer sewing machine, he quickly figured out the device and realized how it works. Already in the elementary grades, McCarthy demonstrated amazing abilities for mathematics. He was not even ten years old when he announced to his relatives that he would become a scientist. Adults were smart and tact to take this statement seriously.
McCarthy, as a schoolboy, systematically visited the library of the California University of Technology. Here he looked through bulletins and other periodicals on technical topics. He entered the same educational institution after graduation. Having received a student card, John externally passed the exams and tests for the first two courses, and he was transferred immediately to the third year. In 1948, he received a bachelor's degree in mathematics. And after three years, a master’s degree. By this time, he managed to print several feature articles in prestigious scientific journals.
Scientific activity
Having received a specialized education, John McCarthy with his inherent energy took up the realization of his ideas. In the early 50s, the scientific community faced two urgent problems. Firstly, the cumbersome access system prevented the effective use of computer capabilities. The programmer had to spend unnecessarily a lot of time to enter the source data into the processor. Secondly, programming languages were also far from perfect. The young scientist made great efforts to convene a conference in which all the leading experts in the field of programming and artificial intelligence took part.
It is important to emphasize that the term “artificial intelligence” was introduced by John McCarthy into the practice of scientific communication. This happened in 1956 at a symposium on the development of computational methods. By this time, a new programming language for working with lists was tested, which was called LISP. Later, it served as a platform for creating a family of programming languages. Algol has long been used in solving problems with large amounts of data. "Fortran" was created specifically for solving mathematical problems, using complex formulas.
The career of a scientist was successful. In 1962, McCarthy moved to Stanford University. Here, the professor lectured to students and acted as an expert in the development of new projects. In addition, he worked hard to create an algorithm for the functioning of large databases. Many of the elements and approaches that John came up with are used in computer systems today. However, he does not leave his main occupation in the formation of the basic elements of artificial intelligence.
Success and achievement
The work of John McCarthy was appreciated by colleagues and the scientific community as a whole. The Turing Prize, the most prestigious award for achievements in the development of computer science, the professor received in 1971. In the biography of the scientist, it is noted that until his advanced years he maintained a sharpness of mind and good spirits. In 1985 he was awarded the Pioneer of Computer Technology Award. It is interesting to note that this insignia and monetary component is assigned for a contribution made more than 15 years ago.
The international recognition of merit in the development of computer technology is the "Kyoto Prize", which is established and awarded by the Japanese Ceramic Company. This company does not produce bricks or porcelain, but silicon substrates for integrated circuits. The John McCarthy collection also contains the US National Science Medal and the Benjamin Franklin Medal.
