John McCarthy [History]

Abstract

John McCarthy is best known as one of the founding fathers of artificial intelligence (AI), a term he coined in 1955, and much has been written about his pioneering work in computer and cognitive science (Figure 1). Less attention has been given to McCarthy's efforts related to robotics, though his AI research instigated and influenced development in the field. As the founder of the Stanford-AI Lab (SAIL) and its director from 1965 to 1980, McCarthy participated in research on computer vision, speech recognition, and planning in robotics, collaborated with innovators such as Bernie Roth and Vic Scheinman to develop some of the first robot arms, and advised 30 students, a number of whom have gone on to become leaders in robotics and AI.