Selmer Bringsjord (born November 24, 1958) is the chair of the Department of Cognitive Science at

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

and a professor of

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

and Cognitive Science. He also holds an appointment in the

Lally School of Management & Technology The Lally School of Management was founded in 1963 as part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Its current mission statement is "To bridge management and technology to create sophisticated global business leaders who are prepared to guide th ...

and teaches

artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

(AI), formal logic, human and machine reasoning, and philosophy of AI. Bringsjord's education includes a B.A. in Philosophy from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. He conducts research in AI as the director of the Rensselaer AI & Reasoning Laboratory (RAIR). He specializes in the logico-mathematical and philosophical foundations of AI and cognitive science, and in collaboratively building AI systems on the basis of computational logic. Bringsjord believes that "the human mind will forever be superior to AI", and that "much of what many humans do for a living will be better done by indefatigable machines who require not a cent in pay". Bringsjord has stated that the "ultimate growth industry will be building smarter and smarter such machines on the one hand, and philosophizing about whether they are truly conscious and free on the other". Bringsjord has an argument for

P = NP The P versus NP problem is a major unsolved problem in theoretical computer science. In informal terms, it asks whether every problem whose solution can be quickly verified can also be quickly solved. The informal term ''quickly'', used abov ...

using digital physics. Other research includes developing a new computational-logic framework allowing the formalization of deliberative multi-agent "mindreading" as applied to the realm of nuclear strategy, with the goal of creating a model and simulation to enable reliable prediction. He has published an opinion piece advocating for counter-terrorism security ensured by pervasive, all-seeing sensors; automated reasoners; and autonomous, lethal robots. Prof. Selmer Bringsjord received a National Science Foundation award to research Social Robotics and the Covey Award for the advancement of philosophy of computing awarded by the International Association for Computing And Philosophy, among several others prizes.

Books authored

*with Yang, Y. ''Mental Metalogic: A New, Unifying Theory of Human and Machine Reasoning'' (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum).(2007) *with Zenzen, M. ''Superminds: People Harness Hypercomputation, and More'' (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer). (2003) *with Ferrucci, D. ''Artificial Intelligence and Literary Creativity: Inside the Mind of Brutus, A Storytelling Machine'' (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum).(2000) *''Abortion: A Dialogue'' (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett).(1997) *''What Robots Can and Can’t Be'' (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer).(1992) *''Soft Wars'' (New York, NY: Penguin USA). A novel.(1991)

Footnotes

External links

Department of Cognitive Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRensselaer AI & Reasoning LabSelmer Bringsjord
Personal web site at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Bringsjord, Selmer 1958 births Living people American computer scientists Artificial intelligence researchers Human–computer interaction researchers American technology writers Machine learning researchers Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute faculty University of Pennsylvania alumni Brown University alumni