Turing: Pioneer of the Information Age

Jack Copeland discusses Alan Turing's impact on information technology. Turing is often considered to be one of the greatest minds in the 20th century, and Copeland looks at how many of Turing's ideas lie behind some of information technology's most fundamental theories.

About the Lecturer
Brian Jack Copeland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand and author of books on computing pioneer Alan Turing.

Related Links
Breaking the Code, A Biography of Alan Turing

Alan Turing: Legacy of a Code Breaker - by Jim Al-Khalili

From cryptanalysis and the cracking of the German Enigma Code during the Second World War to his work on artificial intelligence, Alan Turing was without doubt one of the greatest minds of the 20th century. An extraordinarily gifted mathematician, he is rightly regarded as the father of computer science having set in place the formal rules that govern the way every computer code ever written actually work. This lecture will be a celebration of one man's enigmatic yet ultimately tragic life - a whirlwind tour of his genius, from whether computers can have consciousness to how a leopard gets its spots.

About the Lecturer
Jim Al-Khalili OBE is an Iraqi-born British theoretical physicist, author and science communicator. He is Professor of Theoretical Physics and Chair in the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Surrey.

Related Links:
Breaking the Code