Laureates of the Japan Prize
The 1990 (6th) Japan Prize
Technology of Integration- Design, Production and Control Technologies
Establishment of an academic field named Artificial Intelligence and the proposal of fundamental theories in that field

Dr. Marvin Minsky (USA)
| Professor of Electrical Engineering, MIT Born in 1927. |
| Award Citation |
|---|
Dr. Minsky published his paper "Steps Toward Artificial Intelligence" in 1961 and this gave Artificial Intelligence (AI) world wide exposure and has earned Dr. Minsky the title of "Father of AI". Artificial Intelligence became increasingly complex by the 1970s, involving vast amounts of knowledge and the need to use specially appropriate pieces of knowledge at particular times. Dr. Minsky proposed a theory of frames for the effective representation and utilization of knowledge in computers. In the 1980s, AI has produced many more practical application systems and many researchers have turned toward the question of how to make machines learn more by themselves. In addition to the development of the theory and practical application systems, he emphasized the necessity of study on the human mind including emotion and self consciousness. In his book "Society of Mind," he proposed a model of the human mind which consists of many small agents (computers) working together by communicating with each other. His proposal is expected to further expand the AI technology to other fields of science and help promote AI applications. |