Arthur Samuel

Arthur Samuel (December 5, 1901 – July 29, 1990) was an American computer scientist and pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning. He is best known for coining the term "machine learning" in 1959 and for his groundbreaking work on computer checkers.

Arthur Samuel was born in Emporia, Kansas. He completed his undergraduate studies in electrical engineering and later earned a Ph.D. in Physics.

Samuel joined IBM in the early 1940s, where he worked on various computing projects. It was during his time at IBM that he developed his famous checkers-playing program.

In 1959, Samuel coined the term "machine learning" to describe a new field of study that focuses on the development of algorithms that allow computers to learn from data. His work laid the foundation for future research in machine learning and artificial intelligence.

One of Samuel's most notable contributions was his checkers-playing program, which was one of the first programs that could learn from its own mistakes, improving its performance over time.

Arthur Samuel's work had a profound impact on the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning. His concepts and algorithms have been foundational to the development of many modern machine learning techniques.

Awards and Honors:

Elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1968
ACM Fellow in 1994 (posthumous)

References:

Samuel, Arthur (1959). "Some Studies in Machine Learning Using the Game of Checkers". IBM Journal of Research and Development.
Samuel, Arthur (1967). "Some Aspects of Machine Learning". IBM Journal of Research and Development.