Terry Winograd Quotes

The main activity of programming is not the origination of new independent programs, but in the integration, modification, and explanation of existing ones.

There is a tendency to throw computers at third world problems, which I think is often a distraction. Putting computers in the schools is great, but it may be more important to put teachers in the schools.

The techniques of artificial intelligence are to the mind what bureaucracy is to human social interaction.

In the next 50 years, the increasing importance of designing spaces for human communication and interaction will lead to expansion in those aspects of computing that are focused on people, rather than machinery.

A reason to have computers understand natural language is that it's an extremely effective way of communicating. What I came to realize is that the success of the communication depends on the real intelligence on the part of the listener, and that there are many other ways of communicating with a computer that can be more effective, given that it doesn't have the intelligence.

Ultimately, we are seeking a better understanding of what is means to be human. In this quest, progress is not made by finding the "right" answers, but by asking meaningful questions.