J.C.R. Licklider
Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider (
March 11,
1915 -
June 26,
1990), known simply as J.C.R. or 'Lick' is one of the most important figures in
computer science and general computing history. He received three undergraduate degrees (physics, math and psychology; from
Washington University in St. Louis) and did his doctorate in
psychoacoustics. He became interested in
information technology early in his career, becoming an innovative and forward-thinking computer scientist.
Although at one time best known as the father of
artificial intelligence, he was also an important figure in conceptualizing modern computer interaction concepts, and his key role in these developments is increasingly being recognized. He is credited with a major part in the development of a view of computers as general tools, rather than simply devices for performing calculations, and with initiating the thinking which led to the modern
Internet. He understood the importance of both
computers to mass
communications and of an informed population to
democracy.
One of the early results of his work was the development of
time-sharing. He also mentored and provided funding to
Douglas Engelbart, who founded the
Augmentation Research Center at
Stanford Research Institute and created the famous
On-Line System.
Much like
Vannevar Bush, J.C.R. Licklider's contribution to the development of the
Internet consists of ideas not inventions. He foresaw the need for networked
computers with easy user interfaces. His ideas foretold of graphical computing, point-and-click interfaces, digital libraries, e-commerce, online banking, and software that would exist on a network and migrate to wherever it was needed. He has been called, "Computing's Johnny Appleseed," a well-deserved nickname for a man who planted the seeds of computing in the digital age.
In
1950, Licklider moved from the Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory at
Harvard University to
MIT where he served on a committee that established
MIT Lincoln Laboratory. He worked on a Cold War project known as
SAGE designed to create computer-based air defense systems. In
1957 he became a Vice President at
BBN, where he bought the first production
PDP-1 computer and conducted the first public demonstration of
time-sharing.
In
1960, Licklider wrote his famous paper
Man-Computer Symbiosis, which outlined the need for simpler interaction between computers and computer users. Licklider has been credited as an early pioneer of
cybernetics and
AI [
1]. Unlike many AI practitioners, Licklider never felt that men would be replaced by computer-based beings. As he wrote in that article: "Men will set the goals, formulate the hypotheses, determine the criteria, and perform the evaluations. Computing machines will do the routinizable work that must be done to prepare the way for insights and decisions in technical and scientific thinking."
Licklider formulated the earliest ideas of a global computer network in August
1962 at BBN, in a series of memos discussing the "
Galactic Network" concept. These ideas contained almost everything that the Internet is today.
His paper
The Computer as a Communication Device, Science and Technology, April 1968, illustrates his vision of network applications.
In October 1962 Licklider was appointed head of the
DARPA information processing office, part of the
United States Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. He would then convince
Ivan Sutherland,
Bob Taylor, and
Lawrence G. Roberts that an all-encompassing computer network was a very important concept.
In
1968, J.C.R. Licklider became director of
Project MAC at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which he had provided the initial funding for while at DARPA. Project MAC had produced the first computer time-sharing system,
CTSS, and one of the first
online setups with the development of
Multics (work on which commenced in
1964). Multics was the direct ancestor of the
Unix operating system developed at
Bell Labs by
Ken Thompson and
Dennis Ritchie in
1970.
So many of Licklider's visions are still with us today that the effect of his ideas can scarcely be quantified, especially with the explosion of the
World Wide Web and the general Internet.
* M. Mitchell Waldrop (2001)
The Dream Machine : J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal ISBN 0-67-089976-3 is an extensive biography of J.C.R. Licklider.
*
Man-Computer Symbiosis paper, JCR Licklider, March 1960.
*
Augmenting Human Intellect paper, Douglas Engelbart, October 1962.
* Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider,
Libraries of the Future. Cambridge, MA.: 1965.
*
The Computer as a Communication Device - This also includes a .pdf version of the Man-Computer Symbiosis paper.
*
Internet History - A short summary, with links, putting Licklider in the context of
Vannevar Bush,
Douglas Engelbart, and others.
*
Computer Networks: The Heralds of Resource Sharing [
2] video documentary, 1972. Licklider explains online resource sharing, about 10 minutes into the documentary, and reappears throughout.
* Affiliations:
BBN,
DARPA,
Harvard University,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
MIT Lincoln Laboratory* Legacy:
Internet,
World Wide Web,
Unix* People:
Douglas Englebart,
Lawrence G. Roberts,
Ivan Sutherland,
Bob Taylor* Projects & Ideas: "
Galactic Network",
Man-Computer Symbiosis,
Project MAC,
SAGE
