Igor Aleksander
Encyclopedia
Igor Aleksander FREng
(born 1937) is an emeritus professor of Neural Systems Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London
. He worked in artificial intelligence
and neural networks
and designed the world's first neural pattern recognition system in the 1980s.
and graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand
in South Africa
, arriving in the UK in the late 1950s, intending to become a research student under Colin Cherry
. Instead he found work with Standard Telephones and Cables
, later joining Queen Mary College
where he gained a PhD, subsequently becoming a lecturer there in 1961. He moved to the University of Kent
in 1968 as a reader in Electronics and then to Brunel University
as a professor in 1974. In 1984 he took up a chair at Imperial College London
as professor of the Management of Information Technology. He became Head of Electrical Engineering and was Gabor Professor of Neural Systems Engineering at Imperial College from 1988 to his retirement in 2002. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
(1988), and he served as Pro-rector of External Relations at Imperial College (1997).
His work has centred on the modelling capability of artificial neural network
s. He has devised neuromodels of the visual system
in primates, visuo-verbal system in humans, the effect of anaesthetics on awareness
, and artificial consciousness
. He designed one of the first neural pattern recognition systems, the WISARD (marketed by CRS, Wokingham) in the 1980s.
Articles
Royal Academy of Engineering
-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
(born 1937) is an emeritus professor of Neural Systems Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
. He worked in artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
and neural networks
Neural Networks
Neural Networks is the official journal of the three oldest societies dedicated to research in neural networks: International Neural Network Society, European Neural Network Society and Japanese Neural Network Society, published by Elsevier...
and designed the world's first neural pattern recognition system in the 1980s.
Life and work
Aleksander was educated in ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, arriving in the UK in the late 1950s, intending to become a research student under Colin Cherry
Colin Cherry
Edward Colin Cherry was a British cognitive scientist whose main contributions were in focused auditory attention, specifically regarding the cocktail party problem. This concerns the problem of following only one conversation while many other conversations are going on around us...
. Instead he found work with Standard Telephones and Cables
Standard Telephones and Cables
Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd was a British telephone, telegraph, radio, telecommunications and related equipment R&D manufacturer. During its history STC invented and developed several groundbreaking new technologies including PCM and optical fibres.The company began life in London as...
, later joining Queen Mary College
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
where he gained a PhD, subsequently becoming a lecturer there in 1961. He moved to the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
in 1968 as a reader in Electronics and then to Brunel University
Brunel University
Brunel University is a public research university located in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. The university is named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
as a professor in 1974. In 1984 he took up a chair at Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
as professor of the Management of Information Technology. He became Head of Electrical Engineering and was Gabor Professor of Neural Systems Engineering at Imperial College from 1988 to his retirement in 2002. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Royal Academy of Engineering
-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
(1988), and he served as Pro-rector of External Relations at Imperial College (1997).
His work has centred on the modelling capability of artificial neural network
Artificial neural network
An artificial neural network , usually called neural network , is a mathematical model or computational model that is inspired by the structure and/or functional aspects of biological neural networks. A neural network consists of an interconnected group of artificial neurons, and it processes...
s. He has devised neuromodels of the visual system
Visual system
The visual system is the part of the central nervous system which enables organisms to process visual detail, as well as enabling several non-image forming photoresponse functions. It interprets information from visible light to build a representation of the surrounding world...
in primates, visuo-verbal system in humans, the effect of anaesthetics on awareness
Awareness
Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the state or quality of being aware of...
, and artificial consciousness
Artificial consciousness
Artificial consciousness , also known as machine consciousness or synthetic consciousness, is a field related to artificial intelligence and cognitive robotics whose aim is to define that which would have to be synthesized were consciousness to be found in an engineered artifact .Neuroscience...
. He designed one of the first neural pattern recognition systems, the WISARD (marketed by CRS, Wokingham) in the 1980s.
See also
- Artificial consciousnessArtificial consciousnessArtificial consciousness , also known as machine consciousness or synthetic consciousness, is a field related to artificial intelligence and cognitive robotics whose aim is to define that which would have to be synthesized were consciousness to be found in an engineered artifact .Neuroscience...
- Artificial ImaginationArtificial ImaginationArtificial imagination , also called Synthetic imagination or machine imagination is defined as artificial simulation of human imagination by general or special purpose computers or artificial neural networks....
- Cybernetics SocietyCybernetics SocietyThe Cybernetics Society is the UK based learned society that exists to promote the understanding of cybernetics. The core activity of the Cybernetics Society is the organization and facilitation of scientific meetings, conferences, and social events...
- Journal of Consciousness StudiesJournal of Consciousness StudiesThe Journal of Consciousness Studies is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated entirely to the field of consciousness studies. It was previously edited by Joseph Goguen. It has been co-edited by the philosopher of mysticism, Robert K.C...
- Philosophy of artificial intelligencePhilosophy of artificial intelligenceThe philosophy of artificial intelligence attempts to answer such questions as:* Can a machine act intelligently? Can it solve any problem that a person would solve by thinking?...
- Strong AIStrong AIStrong AI is artificial intelligence that matches or exceeds human intelligence — the intelligence of a machine that can successfully perform any intellectual task that a human being can. It is a primary goal of artificial intelligence research and an important topic for science fiction writers and...
- SuperintelligenceSuperintelligenceA superintelligence, hyperintelligence or superhuman intelligence is a hypothetical entity which possesses intelligence surpassing that of any existing human being...
Selected publications
Books- 2005, The World in My Mind, My Mind In The World: Key Mechanisms of Consciousness in Humans, Animals and Machinespublished by Imprint Academic, ISBN 1845400216.
- 1996, Impossible Minds: My neurons, My Consciousness published by Imperial College Press ISBN 1-86094-036-6.
- 2000, How to Build a Mind, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson
Articles
- 1994, K. WarwickKevin WarwickKevin Warwick is a British scientist and professor of cybernetics at the University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom...
. "Weightless brains", Review of Neurons and Symbols by Igor Aleksander and Helen Morton, The Times Higher Educational Supplement, p. 31, February (1994) - 1996, N. Sales, R. Evans, I. Aleksander. "Successful naive representation grounding", in: Artificial Intelligence Review, vol. 10,no.1-2, pp. 83–102.
- 1997, I. Aleksander, C. Browne, R. Evans, N. Sales, "Conscious and Neural Cognizers: A Review and Some Recent Approaches", in: Neural Networks, Vol. 10, No. 7, pp 1303–1316.
- 1997, Evolutionary Checkers in: Nature, Vol. 402, Dec. 1999, pp857–860.
- 2003, "Axioms and Tests for the Presence of Minimal Consciousness in Agents", in: Journal of Consciousness StudiesJournal of Consciousness StudiesThe Journal of Consciousness Studies is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated entirely to the field of consciousness studies. It was previously edited by Joseph Goguen. It has been co-edited by the philosopher of mysticism, Robert K.C...
- 2008, "Machine consciousness", Scholarpedia 3(2):4162.