SOCIAL IMPACT OF COMPUTERS AND RESEARCH IN EDUCATION
Professor Joseph Weizenbaum's interests include the societal
implications of computers, and the pedagogic problems of teaching
computation. His recently published book "Computer Power and Human
Reason," explores, among other interesting issues, what can, and
what
ought to be delegated to machines.
Professor Robert Fano, an expert in information theory, is also
the
founding Director of the Laboratory. Under his leadership the
Laboratory developed the CTSS and Multics time-sharing systems.
His
interests are in computer communication networks, and their social
implications, especially as they relate to privacy of
information. Professor Fano is also keenly interested in education
and
spearheaded, in the late 1960's, the creation of an undergraduate
program in Computer Science and Engineering within the Department
of
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Professor Joel Moses (seated), Associate Director of the
Laboratory
for Computer Science, and Professor Patrick H. Winston, Director
of
the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Laboratory is physically housed
in
the same building as the Laboratory for Computer Science. Members
of
the two laboratories cooperate in several joint projects, e.g., in
natural language understanding, in the architecture of a special
machine tailored to the language LISP, and in the development and
maintenance of common system software.
Other faculty members of the Al Laboratory are Professors Jeanne
Bamberger, Ira Goldstein, Berthold K. P. Horn, Marvin L. Minsky,
Seymour A. Papert, and Gerald Sussman. Broad research areas of the
AI
Laboratory are natural language understanding, robotics, computer
vision, problem solving, computer based personal assistants, large
file systems and education.
This 1975 MIT Lab for Computer Science
Brochure was reconstructed in HTML by Peter
Szolovits, 1995.
If you have comments, please email
them to me.
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