The life and death of the father of artificial intelligence: John McCarthy

“Mankind will probably survive even if it doesn't take my advice,”

John McCarthy, the father of artificial intelligence.

What exactly was this advice? Crowning the founder of artificial intelligence is like tracing the source of a mighty river; it’s a long chain of streams, each feeding into the next. Still, within the crowded and contentious field of AI, there remains one undisputed tributary. 

Google “Father of artificial intelligence,” “who invented artificial intelligence,” “who invented AI”—and you'll find one name repeatedly at the source: John McCarthy.

The early life of a skeptical mind

John McCarthy was born on September 4, 1927, in Boston, Massachusetts, into a world shaped by the Great Depression. His father was Irish; his mother, a Lithuanian Jew. Frequent relocations marked his childhood, reflecting his family's struggles and political activism; they were active members of the Communist Party. From an early age, McCarthy was steeped in critical thinking, encouraged by his politically engaged parents to see beyond conventional narratives and challenge accepted truths.

McCarthy took this ingrained habit of skepticism and inquiry into the academic realm, where he quickly distinguished himself. He demonstrated an early mathematical brilliance, teaching himself college-level math in his teens, enabling him to skip two years at the California Institute of Technology. After a brief suspension and military service, he completed his mathematics degree. He continued his academic journey at Princeton, earning a PhD in mathematics in 1951.

Thereafter, McCarthy held appointments at Princeton University, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology before becoming a professor at Stanford in 1962, at the age of 35. 

He would spend the rest of his career at Stanford. It was here that he set in motion ideas that would ripple through history.

The quiet document that changed the world

When humans look back a century from now, it’s not ludicrous to imagine “artificial intelligence” as one of humanity’s most influential terms. Yet its origin was modest; a quiet creation in a brief academic proposal authored by John McCarthy and his colleagues.

"We propose that a 2 month, 10 man study of artificial intelligence be carried out during the summer of 1956 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire."

That is the introductory sentence of the seminal document titled “A Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence,” authored by John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester, and Claude Shannon.

This proposal, concise and understated, would set the stage for a small summer workshop that became legendary as the 1956 Dartmouth Conference, the foundational event considered the birthplace of artificial intelligence as a distinct scientific field.

Prior to Dartmouth, the concept of machines exhibiting human-like intelligence was scattered across various disciplines, each with its own terminology—cybernetics, automata theory, and complex information processing. 

The academic proposal itself was remarkably ambitious despite its brevity: “An attempt will be made to find how to make machines use language, form abstractions and concepts, solve kinds of problems now reserved for humans, and improve themselves,” read the message delivered to prospective attendees ahead of the groundbreaking summer gathering. 

The legacy of McCarthy 

Following the landmark 1956 Dartmouth Conference, John McCarthy continued to actively shape and define the trajectory of artificial intelligence. In 1958, he invented Lisp, one of the first programming languages specifically designed for AI research, which became foundational in AI development for decades. 

His contributions thereafter, although hard to grasp for those who are not mathematicians, were numerous and transformative: 

• Time-sharing systems, making computing resources widely accessible.

• Commonsense reasoning, formalizing concepts to give machines human-like understanding.

• Situation calculus, a mathematical framework essential for reasoning about actions and events within artificial intelligence.

• Garbage collection, the development of automatic memory management techniques widely used in modern computing.

• Circumscription, a form of non-monotonic logic developed to help machines make assumptions similar to human reasoning.

• Formalization of knowledge representation, providing foundations for structuring and storing information within AI systems.

Following decades of pioneering theoretical work and influential advocacy in artificial intelligence, McCarthy continued to teach, research, and mentor generations of computer scientists at Stanford University. He became an elder statesman of AI, widely respected for his insight and contributions. Even as debates about the future of artificial intelligence grew increasingly complex and heated, McCarthy maintained a steady, thoughtful perspective, reminding colleagues of the fundamental questions that inspired AI in the first place.

He died in 2011, leaving behind a towering legacy that continues to echo through every facet of artificial intelligence.

McCarthy’s philosophy

Much of McCarthy’s philosophical vision turned out to be remarkably prophetic. He envisioned a future where machines could think and act like humans—an idea that seemed radical at the time but feels increasingly commonplace today. Before his death, McCarthy had witnessed many of his groundbreaking predictions come to fruition, observing artificial intelligence evolve from an isolated concept in his mind into one of the most transformative forces shaping the modern world.

On an ethical level, McCarthy viewed artificial intelligence not as a threat or replacement, but as a tool to amplify human potential. He believed that AI could—and should—be leveraged to solve complex societal problems, enhance productivity, and expand human capabilities. 

Despite his groundbreaking contributions and profound insights, McCarthy maintained a humble and pragmatic outlook, encapsulated in his own words:

“Mankind will probably survive even if it doesn't take my advice.”

This sentiment, shared by his daughter Susan McCarthy, reflects his characteristic blend of wry humor and philosophical optimism—a personal philosophy he termed “radical optimism.” It underscores his belief in humanity's resilience and capacity to navigate the challenges posed by technological advancement, even without heeding his guidance.

So what was that advice McCarthy alluded to? Don’t fear the machine. Fear the failure to use it wisely.