Valentin Turchin
Encyclopedia
Valentin Fyodorovich Turchin was a Soviet and American cybernetician
and computer scientist. He developed the Refal programming language, the theory of metasystem transition
s and the notion of supercompilation. As such he can be seen as a pioneer in Artificial Intelligence
and one of the visionaries at the basis of the Global brain
idea.
, Soviet Union
. In 1952, he graduated from Moscow University in Theoretical Physics, and got his Ph.D. in 1957. After working on neutron and solid-state physics at the Institute for Physics of Energy in Obninsk, in 1964 he accepted a position at the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics
in Moscow
. There he worked in statistical regularization methods and authored REFAL, one of the first AI languages and the AI language of choice in the Soviet Union.
In the 1960s, Turchin became politically active. In 1968 he authored "The Inertia of Fear and the Scientific Worldview", a scathing critique of totalitarianism supported by an emerging cybernetic social theory. Following its publication in the underground press, he lost his research laboratory. In 1970 he authored "The Phenomenon of Science", a grand cybernetic meta-theory of universal evolution, which broadened and deepened the earlier book. By 1973, Turchin had founded the Moscow chapter of Amnesty International
and was working closely with the well-known physicist and Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov
. In 1974 he lost his position at the Institute, and was persecuted by the KGB
. Facing almost certain imprisonment, he and his family were forced to emigrate from the Soviet Union
in 1977.
He came to New York where he joined the faculty of the City University of New York
in 1979. In 1990, together with Cliff Joslyn
and Francis Heylighen
, he founded the Principia Cybernetica Project, a worldwide organization devoted to the collaborative development of an evolutionary-cybernetic philosophy. In 1998, he co-founded the software start-up SuperCompilers, LLC. He retired from his post of Professor of Computer Science at City College
in 1999 and died in New York City
on 7 April 2010.
His son, Peter Turchin
, is a world renowned specialist in population dynamics
and mathematical modeling of historical dynamics.
, which denotes the evolutionary process through which higher levels of control emerge in system structure and function.
Turchin uses this concept to provide a global theory of evolution
and a coherent social systems theory, to develop a complete cybernetics philosophical and ethical system, and to build a constructivist foundation for mathematics.
Using the REFAL
language he has implemented a Supercompiler, a unified method for program transformation and optimization based on a metasystem transition.
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
and computer scientist. He developed the Refal programming language, the theory of metasystem transition
Metasystem transition
A metasystem transition is the emergence, through evolution, of a higher level of organization or control.Prime examples are the origin of life, the transition from unicellular to multicellular organisms, the emergence of eusociality or symbolic thought...
s and the notion of supercompilation. As such he can be seen as a pioneer 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 one of the visionaries at the basis of the Global brain
Global brain
The Global Brain is a metaphor for the worldwide intelligent network formed by people together with the information and communication technologies that connect them into an "organic" whole...
idea.
Biography
Turchin was born in 1931 in PodolskPodolsk
Podolsk is an industrial city and the administrative center of Podolsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Pakhra River...
, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. In 1952, he graduated from Moscow University in Theoretical Physics, and got his Ph.D. in 1957. After working on neutron and solid-state physics at the Institute for Physics of Energy in Obninsk, in 1964 he accepted a position at the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics
Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics
The Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences is a research institute specializing in computational mathematics....
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. There he worked in statistical regularization methods and authored REFAL, one of the first AI languages and the AI language of choice in the Soviet Union.
In the 1960s, Turchin became politically active. In 1968 he authored "The Inertia of Fear and the Scientific Worldview", a scathing critique of totalitarianism supported by an emerging cybernetic social theory. Following its publication in the underground press, he lost his research laboratory. In 1970 he authored "The Phenomenon of Science", a grand cybernetic meta-theory of universal evolution, which broadened and deepened the earlier book. By 1973, Turchin had founded the Moscow chapter of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
and was working closely with the well-known physicist and Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. He earned renown as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the...
. In 1974 he lost his position at the Institute, and was persecuted by the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
. Facing almost certain imprisonment, he and his family were forced to emigrate from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1977.
He came to New York where he joined the faculty of the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
in 1979. In 1990, together with Cliff Joslyn
Cliff Joslyn
Cliff Joslyn is an American cognitive scientist, cyberneticist, and currently Chief Scientist for Knowledge Sciences at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Seattle, Washington, USA.- Biography :...
and Francis Heylighen
Francis Heylighen
Francis Paul Heylighen is a Belgian cyberneticist, and research professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Dutch-speaking Free University of Brussels, where he directs the transdisciplinary research group on "Evolution, Complexity and Cognition".-Biography:Francis Heylighen was born on...
, he founded the Principia Cybernetica Project, a worldwide organization devoted to the collaborative development of an evolutionary-cybernetic philosophy. In 1998, he co-founded the software start-up SuperCompilers, LLC. He retired from his post of Professor of Computer Science at City College
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
in 1999 and died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 7 April 2010.
His son, Peter Turchin
Peter Turchin
Peter Turchin is a Russian-American scientist, specializing in population biology and "cliodynamics" — mathematical modeling and statistical analysis of the dynamics of historical societies.- Biography :...
, is a world renowned specialist in population dynamics
Population dynamics
Population dynamics is the branch of life sciences that studies short-term and long-term changes in the size and age composition of populations, and the biological and environmental processes influencing those changes...
and mathematical modeling of historical dynamics.
Work
The philosophical core of Turchin's scientific work is the concept of the metasystem transitionMetasystem transition
A metasystem transition is the emergence, through evolution, of a higher level of organization or control.Prime examples are the origin of life, the transition from unicellular to multicellular organisms, the emergence of eusociality or symbolic thought...
, which denotes the evolutionary process through which higher levels of control emerge in system structure and function.
Turchin uses this concept to provide a global theory of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
and a coherent social systems theory, to develop a complete cybernetics philosophical and ethical system, and to build a constructivist foundation for mathematics.
Using the REFAL
Refal
Refal "is a functional programming language oriented toward symbol manipulation", including "string processing, translation, [and] artificial intelligence". It is one of the oldest members of this family, first conceived in 1966 as a theoretical tool with the first implementation appearing in 1968...
language he has implemented a Supercompiler, a unified method for program transformation and optimization based on a metasystem transition.
Major publications
- Refal-5: Programming Guide and Reference Manual, New England Publishing Co. Holyoke MA, 1989
- Principia Cybernetica Web (as editor, together with F. Heylighen and C. Joslyn) (1993–2005)
External links
- Valentin Turchin, eulogy by Edward Kline, President of The Andrei Sakharov Foundation
- Turchin's home page on Principia Cybernetica web
- Profile of Valentin Turchin by Ben GoertzelBen GoertzelBen Goertzel , is an American author and researcher in the field of artificial intelligence. He currently leads Novamente LLC, a privately held software company that attempts to develop a form of strong AI, which he calls "Artificial General Intelligence"...
- Russian edition. The Phenomenon of Science The Phenomenon of Science. A cybernetic approach to human evolution. ETS Publishing House. Moscow - 2000, 398 pp, ISBN 5-93386-019-0
- refal.ru - REFAL and Supercompilation community