"[First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC] contains a number of ideas which are Dr. Turing's own."
- John R. Womersley, NPL Mathematics Division Superintendent
Alan Turing
never forget
Achievement
Era of Invention
From 1945 to 1947, Turing worked on the design of the ACE (Automatic Computing Engine) at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). He presented the first detailed design of a stored-program computer in 1946, one that would form the basis for the first computer (ENIAC).
ENIAC, Computer History Museum.
Turing later became deputy director of the Computing Machine Laboratory at Victoria University of Manchester and worked on software for the Manchester Mark I, one of the first stored-program computers.
Manchester Mark I programmer's handbook, Alan Turing and Tony Brooker.
Researchers working on Manchester Mark I, University of Manchester Department of Computer Science.
After working on the Manchester Mark I, Turing delved into abstract mathematics research and addressed the concept of Artificial Intelligence in his paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence."
Turing proposed the Turing test, the idea that a computer could be considered to "think" if a human interrogator, through conversation, was unable to distinguish it from a human being.
"A computer would deserve to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human."
- Alan Turing
Turing also proposed the benefits of simulating a child's mind and subjecting it to an education rather than simulating the adult mind. This crucial concept broke frontiers in computing, introducing the concept of modern machine learning.
"Instead of trying to produce a programme to simulate the adult mind, why not rather try to produce one which simulates the child's? If this were then subjected to an appropriate course of education one would obtain the adult brain."
- Alan Turing
Turing pioneered frontiers through advancements in theoretical philosophy and technology (specifically artificial intelligence/machine learning). This significantly impacted his field of work at the time. Despite his foresight, his career and personal life were marred by tragedy.