Pearl, Judah

Born on September 4, 1936 in Tel Aviv ^[3] in Mandatory Palestine , in a family of immigrants from Poland . He spent his childhood in Bnei Brak - in the group of Ghur Hasidim who founded this city was his grandfather, Haim Perl ^[6] . In 1956, after serving in the Israeli army and joining the kibbutz commune, Pearl decided to study engineering and entered the Technion ( Haifa , Israel), where he met his future wife, Ruth. In 1960 he received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering ^[7] .

After graduation, he went on to further studies in the United States , and in 1961 received a master 's degree ( English Master of Science ) in the Newark College of Engineering ^[7] (modern Institute of Technology in New Jersey), in 1965 - a master's degree in physics in Rutgert University ^[7] . In the same year, he received a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (present - day New York University ). In Pearl's dissertation on the topic "The vortex theory of superconducting storage devices" ^[8] ( eng. Vortex Theory of Superconductive Memories ), the Pearl vortex ( eng. Pearl vortex ) was discovered - a new type of superconducting current in thin films , similar to the Abrikosov vortex ^{[9] [ 10] [11]} . Pearl worked in the research laboratories of the company RCA and in the company Electronic Memories, where he was engaged in the development of superconducting storage devices and modern memory systems ^[7] .

Long-standing interest in logic and methods of reasoning prompted Perla to move to the University of California at Los Angeles in 1969, and in 1970 he got a place in the newly created computer science department ^[3] . In 1976 he was appointed professor, and in 1978 he founded the laboratory of cognitive systems ^[12] . This laboratory became a permanent workplace of a scientist in which research was conducted in the field of artificial intelligence : heuristic search, probabilistic reasoning, and subsequently - cause-effect reasoning. In 1984, he published the book Heuristics: Intelligent Search Strategies for Automated Problem Solving ^[13] ( Heuristics: Intelligent Search Strategies for Computer Problem Solving ), which presented new results in the field of traditional search algorithms, such as A * and gaming algorithms, raising research in this direction to a new level ^{[3] [13]} .

In 1988 he published the fundamental work “ Probabilistic reasoning in intelligent systems ” ^[14] ( eng. Probabilistic Reasoning in Intelligent Systems ), which became revolutionary for artificial intelligence. A few years later, leading researchers in the field of logic and neural networks adopted a probabilistic approach, now briefly called the modern approach in artificial intelligence ^[3] . In this book, which is the result of years of research and more than 50 publications, Pearl proposes a new approach to building probabilistic models using oriented graphs without cycles — probabilistic graphical models : Bayesian networks and Markov networks . Pearl has developed a new algorithm for computing posterior probabilities in complex probabilistic models (the belief propagation algorithm, which became the basis for turbo codes ), as well as approximate inference algorithms using the Monte Carlo method in Markov chains ( Eng. MCMC ), conditional independence properties, learning algorithms ^[14] . After the publication of the book, Bayesian networks became an important part of research in the field of machine learning , statistics, natural language recognition, computational biology, machine vision, robotics, and cognitive sciences ^[3] .

In 2000, another fundamental work was published - the book “ Causality: Models, Reasoning and Conclusion ” ( eng. Causality: Models, Reasoning, and Inference ) ^[15] . The book proposes a complete rigorous mathematical apparatus for identifying causal relationships in data, conducting causal reasoning ( eng. Causal Reasoning ), reasoning using counterfactual ( eng. Counterfactual reasoning ), interventional analysis ( eng. Interventional analysis ) and do- calculus ( English do-calculus ) ^[15] . Pearl's work on causality won the Lakatos Prize as the most significant innovative work in the field of the philosophy of science ^[16] . In 2003, the Computer Engineering Association awarded Pearl the Allen Newell Medal for “contributing to artificial intelligence and its applications, building a powerful mathematical and theoretical framework through innovative works in the field of heuristic search, reasoning under conditions of uncertainty, satisfying constraints, non-monotonous reasoning and cause-effect modeling " ^[17] , and in 2008 he was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal for" creating the first basic algorithms for calculations and reasoning in conditions of uncertain evidence ” ^[18] . In 2011, Pearl won the Turing Award ^[3] and the Harvey Award ^[19] . Richard Korf, a computer science professor, describes Pearl as one of the giants in the field of artificial intelligence ^[20] .

In his spare time, he enjoys music: he plays the guitar, the piano, sings in the choir ^[7] , collects a collection of old printed books on mathematics, philosophy, and Jewish studies ^[21] . Judah and Ruth Pearl have three children: Tamara, Michelle and Daniel ^[3] , after the abduction and murder in 2002 of Daniel Pearl, Jude and Ruth Pearl founded the Daniel Pearl Foundation ( Engl. Daniel Pearl Foundation ).

• “Any phenomenon that a person demonstrates should be able to imitate a computer as well” ^[22]
• “There is no free will, but free will is a useful illusion, since evolution considers it necessary to equip us with this illusion ... Our actions are predetermined by the activation of neurons. One neuron is activated because other neurons send certain signals ... Our current actions are determined by the state of mind formed yesterday. ” ^[23]

• 2015 -   Dixon Prize
• 2011 -   The Turing Award for "fundamental contribution to artificial intelligence through the development of calculus for probabilistic and causal reasoning" ^[3] .
• 2011 -   The Harvey Award for "foundational work that influenced many aspects of modern life" ^[19]
• 2011 -   Rumelhart Prize for "contribution to the theoretical foundations of human knowledge" ^[24] .
• 2011 -   Hall of Fame IEEE . Artificial Intelligence ^[25] .
• 2008 -   Benjamin Franklin Medal in the field of computer and cognitive sciences for "creating the first basic algorithms for calculations and reasoning in the conditions of uncertainty of evidence" ^[18] .
• 2003 -   Allen Newell Medal for “contribution to artificial intelligence and its applications, building a powerful mathematical and theoretical framework through innovative works in the field of heuristic search, reasoning under conditions of uncertainty, satisfying constraints, non-monotonous reasoning and cause-effect modeling” ^[17] .
• 2001 -   Lakatos Prize for the work "Causality: Models, Reasoning, Conclusion" (2000) ^[16] .

• Heuristics , Addison-Wesley, 1984
• Probabilistic Reasoning in Intelligent Systems , Morgan-Kaufmann, 1988
• Causality: Models, Reasoning, and Inference , Cambridge University Press, 2000
• “ Causal inference in statistics: An overview ”, Statistics Surveys, 3: 96–146, 2009
• " Simpson's paradox: An anatomy ", drawn from Chapter 6 of Causality
• " Robustness of Causal Claims " In Proceedings of the 20th Conference on Artificial Intelligence, AUAI Press: Arlington, VA, 446–453, July 2004
• J. Tian, ​​J. Pearl. " A General Identification for the Eighteenth Conference on Artificial Intelligence", AAAI / The MIT Press: Menlo Park, 567–573, August 2002
• “ Direct and Indirect Effects ” in San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann, 411-420, 2001
• JY Halpern, J. Pearl. Causes and explanations: A structural-model approach, Part I: Causes In the British Journal of Philosophy of Science, 56: 843-887, 2005
• JY Halpern, J. Pearl. Causes and explanations: A structural-model approach, Part II: Explanations . In the British Journal of Philosophy of Science, 56: 889-911, 2005
• " The logic of counterfactuals in causal inference (Discussion of Causal inference without counterfactuals by AP Dawid) " In The Journal of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 95, No. 450, 428–435, June 2000
• J. Tian and J. Pearl. “ Probabilities of causation: Bounds and identification ” In Annals of Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence, Vol. 28, 287-313, 2000

• Amundson, Marlys. A Profile of Judea Pearl - Computer Science Pioneer, Visionary (Judah Pearl Profile - Computer Science Pioneer, visionary) (rus.) // UCLA Engineer: magazine. - University of California at Los Angeles Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, 2004. - Autumn ( No. 12 ). - pp . 16-17 .

• List of publications on the site of Judah Perla
• List of selected publications (1976-2000)
• Judea Pearl on Facebook
• Judea Pearl Causality Blog