Premier ouvrage sur l’IA publié en France

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En 1971, je travaillais auprès de Pierre Schaeffer [1910-1995] au Service de la Recherche de l’ORTF. Schaeffer m’a donné alors les moyens de faire aux Etats-Unis une série de 5 émissions intitulée Aujourd’hui, les machines et les hommes, réalisée par François Moreuil et diffusée dans le magazine Un certain regard de Jacqueline Adler. C’était la belle époque où Pierre Schaeffer pouvait compter toujours (comme moi-même) sur l’aide de Jean Drucker [1941-2003, père de Marie] à l’ORTF, notre « maison mère ».

En 1976, bien après mon départ de l’ORTF, le professeur Jean-Marc Lévy-Leblond m’a permis de publier aux Editions du Seuil le tout premier ouvrage sur l’intelligence artificielle à paraître en langue française. Mon ami Daniel Furjot a rendu correct mon français.


Pendant de nombreuses années, ce livre était pour moi une clé d’ouverture de toutes sortes de portes en France. Aujourd’hui, la discipline de l’IA (intelligence artificielle) a fait beaucoup de progrès, et l’intérêt de mon vieux bouquin n’est bien entendu que purement historique… et (pour moi) sentimental.

L'expression « Machina sapiens » a été utilisée dans la première de mes 5 émissions par Walter Rosenblith [1913-2002], professeur au MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

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