Rich Sutton, PhD

Introduction

Founding Father of
Reinforcement Learning Professor,
University of Alberta

Biography : Richard S. Sutton FRS FRSC is a Canadian computer scientist and is considered the father of modern computational reinforcement learning. He has made several significant contributions to the field, including temporal difference learning and policy gradient methods. He is a professor of computing science at the University of Alberta and a research scientist at Keen Technologies, which focuses on AGI. He is also a co-founder of the Openmind Research Institute, which conducts basic AI research to better understand minds and openly share this knowledge to help humanity understand itself. He earned a B.A. in psychology from Stanford University and later an M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His career has spanned roles at the University of Massachusetts, GTE, and AT&T before joining the University of Alberta in 2003. He is the co-author of the influential book Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction (MIT Press, First Edition 1998; Second Edition 2018).

Intelligence, Cooperation, and Human Flourishing

Richard Sutton explored the profound implications of super-intelligent AI at the event. His talk, “Intelligence, Cooperation, and Human Flourishing,” emphasized the importance of decentralized cooperation among AI agents. Sutton stressed that while humans are naturally cooperative, our societies often struggle with corruption and conflict.

He advocated for AI systems designed to promote collaboration leading to humanity flourishing. “Reinforcement learning, rather than large language models, holds the key to advancing AI,” Sutton argued. He envisioned a future where AI agents improve economies and society but warned against centralized control, which could hinder innovation and cooperation.

Founding Father of <br> Reinforcement Learning Professor, University of Alberta

Introduction

Intelligence, Cooperation, and Human Flourishing

Biography