The
Herbert A. Simon Prize
for
Advances in Cognitive Systems
Overview and Motivation
The Cognitive Systems Foundation sponsors an award in honor of Herbert
A. Simon, a seminal researcher who co-founded the field of artificial
intelligence in the late 1950s. Together with Allen Newell, he invented
list processing, implemented the first running AI system, devised the
earliest computer models of human problem solving, and championed the
notions of satisficing and heuristic decision making. Simon's contributions
have influenced the field in profound and far-reaching ways.
There are a number of prestigious awards that recognize achievements
in AI-related topics. ACM's Turing and Newell Awards cover the diverse
discipline of computer science, IJCAI's Computers and Thought Award
cuts across the field of artificial intelligence, and the Rumelhart
Prize recognizes research on formal accounts of human cognition.
However, none of these accolades emphasize Simon's abiding concern
with high-level thinking in humans and machines.
The current prize celebrates progress in this latter tradition. One
purpose is to remind the community of Simon's groundbreaking ideas
about high-level processing and their potential for understanding
the mind. At the same time, it recognizes the contributions of
senior scientists who have built on his early work. The statement
that accompanies the prize reiterates these dual aims:
-
The Herbert A. Simon Prize for Advances in Cognitive Systems
recognizes scientists who have made important and sustained
contributions to understanding human and machine intelligence
through the design, creation, and study of computational artifacts
that exhibit high-level cognition.
This declaration draws an explicit link between intelligence in humans
and machines, emphasizes the importance of constructing computational
artifacts, and highlights the focus on high-level aspects of cognition.
The annual award is sponsored by the Cognitive Systems Foundation,
which contributes a cash prize of $10,000, and is co-sponsored by the
Herbert Simon Society.
Simon Prize Recipients
- Kenneth D. Forbus (2017)
- John E. Laird and Paul S. Rosenbloom (2018)
- Patrick Henry Winston (2019)
- James Allen (2020)
- Anthony Cohn (2021)
- Kurt VanLehn (2022)
- Benjamin Kuipers (2024)
Contacts and Nominations
For more information about the Herbert A. Simon Prize, including how
to nominate candidates for future years, please contact the Chair
of the Selection Committee, Pat Langley
(patrick.w.langley@gmail.com).
Acknowledgements
Administrative and financial support for the Herbert A. Simon Prize
for Advances in Cognitive Systems is provided by the Cognitive Systems
Foundation, which co-sponsors it jointly with the
Herbert Simon Society.