What if computer science departments issued apologies to…
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What if computer science departments issued apologies to former AI professors who were dismissed in the 80s and 90s?
During the early days of AI, especially around the “AI winter” periods, a lot of researchers who were optimistic about what AI could achieve were seen as unrealistic or even delusional. That skepticism didn’t just come from within the AI field, it often came from their non-AI colleagues in the department, and even from many of their own undergraduate and graduate students.
Some of these professors were heavily criticized, mocked, sidelined, or had their careers derailed because their ideas didn’t align with the mainstream view at the time.
Now that AI has made huge leaps, it raises an interesting question: should departments acknowledge that some of those people may have been treated unfairly?
Not necessarily a blanket apology, but maybe:
* Recognizing individuals whose work or vision was dismissed too harshly
* Publicly reflecting on how academic consensus can sometimes shut down unconventional ideas
* Highlighting overlooked contributors in the history of AI
At the same time, skepticism back then wasn’t always wrong. A lot of AI promises *did* fail, and criticism was often about maintaining rigor, not just shutting people down.
So where’s the line between healthy skepticism and unfair treatment?
Would apologies even mean anything decades later, or would recognition and reflection be more valuable?
Curious what people think.
#technology
During the early days of AI, especially around the “AI winter” periods, a lot of researchers who were optimistic about what AI could achieve were seen as unrealistic or even delusional. That skepticism didn’t just come from within the AI field, it often came from their non-AI colleagues in the department, and even from many of their own undergraduate and graduate students.
Some of these professors were heavily criticized, mocked, sidelined, or had their careers derailed because their ideas didn’t align with the mainstream view at the time.
Now that AI has made huge leaps, it raises an interesting question: should departments acknowledge that some of those people may have been treated unfairly?
Not necessarily a blanket apology, but maybe:
* Recognizing individuals whose work or vision was dismissed too harshly
* Publicly reflecting on how academic consensus can sometimes shut down unconventional ideas
* Highlighting overlooked contributors in the history of AI
At the same time, skepticism back then wasn’t always wrong. A lot of AI promises *did* fail, and criticism was often about maintaining rigor, not just shutting people down.
So where’s the line between healthy skepticism and unfair treatment?
Would apologies even mean anything decades later, or would recognition and reflection be more valuable?
Curious what people think.
#technology
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