Richard Sutton is advancing the AI game with his role in the development of first the robot to beat an expert at the Chinese game Go

What does it mean to be intelligent? Why do humans perceive their environment the way they do? These are all questions that artificial intelligence will, over time, help scientists answer about the human experience. And Richard Sutton, a professor of computer sciences at the University of Alberta, has been a significant contributor to the discussion around the limits and promise of artificial intelligence. He is a respected voice on "reinforcement learning," or the fundamental process that allows AI software to respond to (and ultimately learn from) its environment.