Donald Michie
Encyclopedia
Donald Michie was a British researcher in artificial intelligence
. During World War II, Michie worked for the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park
, contributing to the effort to solve "Tunny," a German teleprinter cipher.
and won a scholarship to study classics
at Balliol College, Oxford
. In Spring 1943, however, looking for some way to contribute to the war effort, Michie instead attempted to enroll on a Japanese language course in Bedford
for intelligence officers. On arrival, it transpired that the course was full, and instead he trained in cryptography, displaying a natural aptitude for the subject. Six weeks later, he was recruited to Bletchley Park
and was assigned to the "Testery
," a section which tackled a German teleprinter cipher. During his time at Bletchley Park he worked with Alan Turing
and Jack Good
.
; he received his DPhil, in mammalian genetics
, in 1953.
In 1960, he developed the Machine Educable Noughts And Crosses Engine (MENACE), one of the first programs capable of learning to play a perfect game of Tic-Tac-Toe
. Since computers were not readily available at this time, Michie implemented his program with about 300 matchboxes, each representing a unique board state. Each matchbox was filled with colored beads, each representing a different move in that board state. The quantity of a color indicated the "certainty" that playing the corresponding move would lead to a win. The program was trained by playing hundreds of games and updating the quantities of beads in each matchbox depending on the outcome of each game.
Michie was director of the University of Edinburgh
's Department of Machine Intelligence and Perception (previously the Experimental Programming Unit) from its establishment in 1965. The machine intelligence unit predated the university's computer science unit. He remained at Edinburgh until 1985, when he left to found the Turing Institute in Glasgow. Active in the research community into his eighties, he devoted the last decade of his life to the UK charity The Human Computer Learning Foundation, and worked with Stephen Muggleton, Claude Sammut
, Richard Wheeler, and others on natural language systems and theories of intelligence. In 2007 he was completing a series of scientific articles on the Sophie Natural Language System and a book manuscript entitled "Jehovah's Creatures".
Michie invented the memoization
technique.
He was involved in many different groups during his lifetime. He was a:
from 1952 to 1959. He had four children, one by his first wife, and three by Prof. McLaren, including economist Jonathan Michie
and health psychologist Susan Fiona Dorinthea Michie. Michie and McLaren remained friends after their divorce, and became close again after the death of his third wife.
Michie aged 83 and his ex-wife McLaren died in a car crash on July 7, 2007 whilst they were travelling from Cambridge to London.
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...
. During World War II, Michie worked for the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
, contributing to the effort to solve "Tunny," a German teleprinter cipher.
Early life and career
Michie was born in Rangoon, Burma. He attended Rugby SchoolRugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
and won a scholarship to study classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
at Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
. In Spring 1943, however, looking for some way to contribute to the war effort, Michie instead attempted to enroll on a Japanese language course in Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
for intelligence officers. On arrival, it transpired that the course was full, and instead he trained in cryptography, displaying a natural aptitude for the subject. Six weeks later, he was recruited to Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
and was assigned to the "Testery
Testery
The Testery was a section at Bletchley Park, the British codebreaking station during World War II. It was set up in July 1942 under Major Ralph Tester to achieve Cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher. The three original founding members, cryptographers, and linguists were Captain Jerry Roberts,...
," a section which tackled a German teleprinter cipher. During his time at Bletchley Park he worked with Alan Turing
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS , was an English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of "algorithm" and "computation" with the Turing machine, which played a...
and Jack Good
I. J. Good
Irving John Good was a British mathematician who worked as a cryptologist at Bletchley Park with Alan Turing. After World War II, Good continued to work with Turing on the design of computers and Bayesian statistics at the University of Manchester...
.
Postwar research
Between 1945 and 1952 he studied at Balliol College, OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
; he received his DPhil, in mammalian genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, in 1953.
In 1960, he developed the Machine Educable Noughts And Crosses Engine (MENACE), one of the first programs capable of learning to play a perfect game of Tic-Tac-Toe
Tic-tac-toe
Tic-tac-toe, also called wick wack woe and noughts and crosses , is a pencil-and-paper game for two players, X and O, who take turns marking the spaces in a 3×3 grid. The X player usually goes first...
. Since computers were not readily available at this time, Michie implemented his program with about 300 matchboxes, each representing a unique board state. Each matchbox was filled with colored beads, each representing a different move in that board state. The quantity of a color indicated the "certainty" that playing the corresponding move would lead to a win. The program was trained by playing hundreds of games and updating the quantities of beads in each matchbox depending on the outcome of each game.
Michie was director of the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
's Department of Machine Intelligence and Perception (previously the Experimental Programming Unit) from its establishment in 1965. The machine intelligence unit predated the university's computer science unit. He remained at Edinburgh until 1985, when he left to found the Turing Institute in Glasgow. Active in the research community into his eighties, he devoted the last decade of his life to the UK charity The Human Computer Learning Foundation, and worked with Stephen Muggleton, Claude Sammut
Claude Sammut
Claude Sammut is a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of New South Wales and Head of the Artificial Intelligence Research Group...
, Richard Wheeler, and others on natural language systems and theories of intelligence. In 2007 he was completing a series of scientific articles on the Sophie Natural Language System and a book manuscript entitled "Jehovah's Creatures".
Michie invented the memoization
Memoization
In computing, memoization is an optimization technique used primarily to speed up computer programs by having function calls avoid repeating the calculation of results for previously processed inputs...
technique.
He was involved in many different groups during his lifetime. He was a:
- Fellow of the British Computer SocietyBritish Computer SocietyThe British Computer Society, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in Information Technology in the United Kingdom and internationally...
; - Fellow of the Royal Society of EdinburghRoyal Society of EdinburghThe Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
; - Honorary Fellow of the American National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
; - Honorary Fellow of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences.
- Founder and Treasurer of the Human-Computer Learning Foundation, a charity registered in the UK.
Personal life
He was married three times, the second to biologist Anne McLarenAnne McLaren
The Hon. Dame Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren, DBE, FRS, FRCOG was the daughter of Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway and Christabel McNaughten. She became a leading figure in developmental biology. Her work helped lead to human in vitro fertilisation...
from 1952 to 1959. He had four children, one by his first wife, and three by Prof. McLaren, including economist Jonathan Michie
Jonathan Michie
Professor Jonathan Michie is a British economist and holds the joint post of Director of the Department for Continuing Education, and President of Kellogg College, University of Oxford, where he is Professor of Innovation & Knowledge Exchange...
and health psychologist Susan Fiona Dorinthea Michie. Michie and McLaren remained friends after their divorce, and became close again after the death of his third wife.
Michie aged 83 and his ex-wife McLaren died in a car crash on July 7, 2007 whilst they were travelling from Cambridge to London.
External links
- Biography at SmartComputing
- Donald Michie - Obituary and Tribute