John McCarthy: Computer scientist known as the father of AI

John McCarthy, an American computer scientist pioneer and inventor, was known as the father of Artificial Intelligence (AI) after playing a seminal role in defining the field devoted to the development of intelligent machines. The cognitive scientist coined the term in his 1955 proposal for the 1956 Dartmouth Conference, the first artificial intelligence conference. The objective was to explore ways to make a machine that could reason like a human, was capable of abstract thought, problem-solving and self-improvement. He believed that "every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it." It would prove a challenge that eluded him and which still eludes computer designers today.