Ada Lovelace Day is not only to commemorate her visionary and foundational contributions to computing but also a reminder for all of us to be aware of how women’s contributions in science and technology are more generally forgotten, overshadowed, downplayed, or even actively erased. It is therefore important that we celebrate the achievements and contributions by women scientists, in our own School of Artificial Intelligence, as elsewhere, and make sure that women’s contributions are visible and acknowledged.
For instance, Ada Lovelace (1815 – 1852) is recognized as the first programmer, but her innovative contributions go far beyond that. To illustrate just how far, Olivia Guest (Assistant Professor in the Cognitive Science and AI department), previously shared this “epic quote of Ada’s, from the 19th century, do not forget!”, Ada writes: “The science of operations, as derived from mathematics more especially, is a science of itself, and has its own abstract truth and value”. Essinger interprets this line in his biography, writing, “Ada is here seeking to do nothing less than invent the science of computing, and separate it from the science of mathematics. What she calls ‘the science of operations’ is indeed in effect computing.”
Two centuries later, as we are living through yet another AI summer where AI hype and promises of artificial general intelligence (AGI) abound, Ada’s wise words remain relevant as ever. When writing about the “AI” of her time, called the Analytical Engine, she wrote: “It is desirable to guard against the possibility of exaggerated ideas that might arise as to the powers of [AI]. In considering any new subject, there is frequently a tendency [...] to overrate what we find to be already interesting or remarkable” — Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (personal 515 correspondence, July, 1843; Toole et al., 1998, p.186).
The School of Artificial Intelligence also houses many amazing and innovative women scientists. Go check out their research!
Iris van Rooij
Professor of Computational Cognitive Science