Margaret Boden, Visionary Philosopher of Artificial Intelligence, Dies at 88
Pioneering Mind in Cognitive Science
Margaret Boden, the British philosopher and cognitive scientist who bridged computer science with philosophy to explore human thought and creativity, died on July 18 in Brighton, England, at the age of 88. The University of Sussex, where she co-founded the Center for Cognitive Science in the early 1970s, announced her passing. The center brought together experts in psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, and philosophy to study the workings of the mind.
Groundbreaking Work on Creativity and AI
Renowned for books like The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms (1990) and Mind as Machine (2006), Professor Boden identified three types of creativity — combinational, exploratory, and transformational — influencing decades of debate on artificial intelligence. She argued that while computers could mimic certain creative processes, they lacked the capacity to evaluate meaning or quality, a fundamentally human trait.
A Skeptical Eye on AI’s Limits
Though she saw computation as a valuable model for thought, Boden doubted machines would ever fully replicate human conversation across all topics. She maintained that AI systems operate within the constraints of their programming and lack consciousness or intent.
Legacy and Influence
Boden’s insights continue to shape how scientists, philosophers, and technologists think about AI’s potential and its boundaries. Her work remains especially relevant in today’s era of advanced language models like ChatGPT — tools she never witnessed but would have met with both fascination and critique.
