PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Gary Drescher

Gary Drescher is a computer scientist whose schema mechanism models how artificial systems can learn new concepts from experience. He completed a Ph.D. at MIT in 1989 and published Made-Up Minds in 1991, grounding the system in Jean Piaget's account of cognitive development. He served as a visiting fellow at Tufts in 2001 and 2002, published Good and Real in 2006, and took part in MIRI's decision-theory workshop in 2013. In November 2025, he discussed consciousness and ethics at the Eleos Conference on AI Consciousness and Welfare; as of October 2026, he is a computer scientist and philosopher.

Timeline

  1. 1989

    A constructivist AI thesis

    In 1989, he completes his Ph.D. thesis at MIT, titled Made-up minds: a constructivist approach to artificial intelligence.

  2. 1991

    The schema mechanism

    In 1991, he publishes Made-Up Minds, which describes the schema mechanism, an artificial cognitive system inspired by Piaget's theory of cognitive development. It learns from experience and extends its vocabulary with new concepts.

  3. 2001–2002

    A Tufts fellowship

    In 2001 and 2002, he serves as a Visiting Fellow at Tufts University's Center for Cognitive Studies.

  4. 2006

    Good and Real

    In 2006, he publishes Good and Real, which examines consciousness, choice, ethics, and quantum mechanics. He defends a deterministic interpretation of quantum mechanics and develops mechanistic accounts of consciousness and choice.

  5. September 2013

    A MIRI decision-theory workshop

    At MIRI's September 2013 Workshop on Logic, Probability, and Reflection, he takes part in a gathering focused on normative decision theory and on formalizing updateless decision theory.

  6. November 2025

    AI consciousness and welfare

    In November 2025, he discusses theories of consciousness and ethics in a conversation recorded at the Eleos Conference on AI Consciousness and Welfare.

  7. As of October 2026

    Computer scientist and philosopher

    As of October 2026, he is a computer scientist and philosopher.

  1. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI from 1961 to 2025, with a year-by-year chart.
  2. The United States employs an estimated 53% of people in our data with a known employment countryOur estimates of where AI careers are concentrated now and how countries’ shares of dated positions changed over time.
  3. 46% of living people in our data with known birth and employment countries work outside their birth countryOur estimate of cross-border careers in AI, from country of birth and the country of each current organization.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionOur estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Sources and credits

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  1. Made-up minds : a constructivist approach to artificial intelligence ci.nii.ac.jp. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. Made-up minds : a constructivist approach to artificial intelligence iucat.iu.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. Gary Drescher en.wikipedia.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. Good and Real naturalism.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. Research Workshops intelligence.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  6. #1: Gary Drescher on consciousness, moral realism, and acausal decision theory podimo.com. Checked 19 October 2026.