born Aug. 9, 1927, New York, N.Y., U.S.
U.S. computer scientist.
He received a Ph.D. from Princeton University and joined the faculty at MIT, where he remained for his entire career. His research contributed to advances in artificial intelligence , cognitive psychology, neural networks (he built the first neural-network simulator in 1951), and the theory of Turing machines. A pioneer in robotics, he built some of the first mechanical hands with tactile sensors, visual scanners, and accompanying software and computer interfaces. He influenced many robotic projects outside MIT and worked to build into machines the human capacity for commonsense reasoning. In his The Society of Mind (1987), 270 interconnected one-page ideas reflect the structure of his theory. He received the Turing Award in 1969.