Professor Stan Franklin
Stan Franklin, Ph.D. was the W. Harry Feinstone Interdisciplinary Research Professor in the Cognitive Computing Research Group in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Memphis and Co-Director of the Institute for Intelligent Systems. He was a computer science innovator and held several research interests. He was the Author of Artificial Minds.
Following his official retirement in December 2013 at 81 years old, he continued his work as a Professor Emeritus. Throughout his career, he received numerous accolades, including the Willard R. Sparks Eminent Faculty Award in 1997, the highest distinction given to a faculty member by the University.
His research interests included cognitive modeling using the IDA and LIDA models, control of autonomous agents, Cognitive Agents Architecture and Theory (CAAT), “conscious” software agents, intelligent tutoring systems, general purpose neurocomputing, and computability theory of neural networks.
Stan’s academic journey began as a mathematician, where he introduced the concept of sequential spaces. He earned his B.S. in Mathematics and Physics at Memphis State University in 1959, his M.S. in Mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1962, and his Ph.D. in Mathematics, specializing in Topology at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1963 with his thesis Concerning continuous relations. He’s been listed in Who’s Who in America since 1982 and in Who’s Who in the World since 2000. Read Spaces for which Sequences Suffice and On subsequential spaces.
His most significant contributions lie in artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive science, particularly in developing models of how minds work. He is recognized as a pioneer in Artificial Intelligence. For many years, his research focused on "conscious" software agents, which model a psychological theory of consciousness known as the Global Workspace Theory.
These agents, designed within the constraints of Bernard Baars' Global Workspace Theory of Consciousness and Cognition, conceptually and computationally model human and animal cognition and provide testable hypotheses for cognitive scientists and neuroscientists.
Read An Agent Architecture Potentially Capable of Robust Autonomy, Consciousness is computational: The LIDA model of Global Workspace Theory, and A Software Agent Model of Consciousness.
Stan was the developer of the IDA (Intelligent Distribution Agent) and its successor, the LIDA (Learning Intelligent Distribution Agent) models. These are computational implementations of Global Workspace Theory. The LIDA model is described as a broad, integrative model of cognition, and research on it has been a primary focus for the past twenty-five years.
IDA, for instance, was designed for the US Navy to automate the role of a detailer, communicating with sailors in natural language, accessing databases, adhering to policies, and even negotiating. IDA and CMattie, another "conscious" agent Stan worked on, was designed to deal intelligently with novel and unexpected situations, though initially focused on novel instances of routine situations.
Achieving truly robust autonomy in such agents requires dealing with truly novel situations and incorporates learning. The LIDA cognitive architecture implements features like flexible motivations based on feelings and emotions, an explicit attention mechanism, and continuous, incremental online learning.
Read IDA: A Cognitive Agent Architecture, Learning in 'Conscious' Software Agents, Artificial Motivation for Cognitive Software Agents, Global Workspace Theory, its LIDA Model and the Underlying Neuroscience, and A LIDA cognitive model tutorial.
He cofounded the Institute for Intelligent Systems (IIS) at the University of Memphis with Art Graesser and Terry Horgan. This interdisciplinary research center focuses on cognitive science and has attracted significant external research funding to the university. He also founded the Cognitive Computing Research Group (CCRG) at the University of Memphis, which is dedicated to developing the LIDA model and related cognitive architectures for software agents and autonomous robots.
He is the author of the book Artificial Minds, published by MIT Press in 1995. The book explores different ways of understanding minds. It surveys philosophies of mind, signs of mind in the animal kingdom, the use of computers for modeling the mind's functions, brain activity, robots as embodiments of minds, the debate surrounding different viewpoints, and the possibility of building artificial minds. At the time of its publication, it was considered the definitive guide to a burgeoning field. It was described as "20 years ahead of its time" for its clear explanation of AI, including concepts like computer "neural networks".
Beyond his book, Stan authored or coauthored nearly 300 academic papers, which have been cited over 13,000 times. His recent research on the LIDA model alone has received close to 500 citations a year. He also guided twenty-five doctoral students to completion. Earlier in his career at the University of Memphis, as chairman of the Computer Science department, he oversaw the implementation of a computer literacy curriculum that was one of the first of its kind globally. Read A Lab for All Seasons," PC Magazine, Dec. 1982, where he discusses the early computer literacy curriculum.
Stan’s work was driven by a fundamental curiosity about how intelligence and mental functions arise from the physical world, describing it as "like exploring outer space." He is remembered as an AI Innovator and a mentor to future generations of cognitive scientists. His work aimed to understand minds by building computational models.
In a 2011 Q&A regarding AI risks, Stan offered the following perspectives:
- Based on current evidence, he estimated the probability of humanity being wiped out by "badly done AI" as tiny. However, he noted the high cost makes the expectation difficult to estimate.
- He assigned an essentially zero probability of a human or subhuman-level AI self-modifying into massive superhuman intelligence within hours or days, stating that a lengthy developmental period would be required.
- Regarding the importance of making AI "provably friendly" before attempting Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), he stated that proofs occur only in mathematics. He noted that concern about AGI agent friendliness has been present since the inception of AGI but suspected we are not close enough to AGI to be overly concerned yet while still acknowledging the importance of thinking about it.
- He felt that most AI researchers currently devote little thought to AGI risks, and the AGI movement is still marginal within the broader AI community, though supported by organizations like AAAI.
- He had no thoughts on how AI risks compare to existential risks like advanced nanotechnology.
In his personal life, Stan was married to Jeannie Stonebrook and had eight children. His children are Bruce Franklin, Phillip Franklin, Sam Franklin, Elena Franklin Berman, Lynn Franklin, Michele Safa, Hallie Franklin, and Sunny Franklin. Two of his children, Michele Safa (anthropology professor) and Elena Franklin Berman (chief science officer at Kairos Aerospace), followed academic or scientific paths. He was a lover of the outdoors and practiced tai chi. He was described as being in excellent health until recently, especially for his age.
He was showcased in the Artificial Intelligence: Your Mind & the Machine exhibit at the Pink Palace/Museum of Science & History and labeled an "AI innovator" and "mentor".
Stan authored Autonomous Agents as Embodied AI and coauthored The LIDA Framework as a General Tool for AGI, Is it an Agent or just a Program?: A Taxonomy for Autonomous Agents, How Conscious Experience and Working Memory Interact, Integrating Affect Sensors in an Intelligent Tutoring System, and An Architecture for Emotion.
Stan passed away on January 23, 2023, at the age of 91, in his East Memphis home. Read Researcher and AI Pioneer Passes Away and Dr. Stan Franklin dies: Memphis genius pioneered 'Artificial Intelligence'.
Watch IIS CogSci Seminar: Stan Franklin "Cognitive Dynamics".
Visit his Wikipedia page, ACADEMIA page, LinkedIn profile, CCRG page, Alumni Highlight page, IEEE Xplore profile, and Facebook page. Visit his Google Scholar page and ResearchGate page.