Hubert Dreyfus
Also known as Hubert L. Dreyfus, Bert Dreyfus
Hubert Dreyfus was a philosopher known for his critique of artificial intelligence. A 1965 RAND paper, 'Alchemy and Artificial Intelligence,' argued that digital computer analysis of intelligent behavior excludes three fundamental human forms of information processing. His 1972 book What Computers Can't Do continued that series of attacks on AI's claims. He taught philosophy at MIT and then at UC Berkeley until 2016. In 1986 he and his brother Stuart published Mind over Machine, and he died in April 2017 at age 87.
- Works
- 308
- Citations
- 26,914
- h-index
- 55
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.
Timeline
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1947–1954
An interview with Heidegger
He attends Harvard from 1947 and earns a B.A. summa cum laude in 1951. From 1953 to 1954 he studies at the University of Freiburg, where he has an interview with Martin Heidegger.
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1960–1968
Teaching philosophy at MIT
From 1960 to 1968 he teaches philosophy at MIT. In 1964 he completes his Harvard PhD with a dissertation titled Husserl's Phenomenology of Perception.
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1965
Alchemy and Artificial Intelligence
He publishes 'Alchemy and Artificial Intelligence' as a RAND paper in 1965, the first of a series of papers and books attacking the field's claims. It argues that digital computer analysis of intelligent behavior excludes three fundamental human forms of information processing.
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1968–2016
A Berkeley professorship
In 1968 he leaves MIT to become an associate professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley. He also wins the Harbison Prize for Outstanding Teaching in 1968. He teaches at Berkeley until 2016.
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1972–1992
What Computers Can't Do
He publishes What Computers Can't Do in 1972, another critique of artificial intelligence. A second edition follows in 1979, and the 1992 edition is retitled What Computers Still Can't Do.
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1986
Mind over Machine
He and his brother Stuart publish Mind over Machine in 1986. Its subtitle is The Power of Human Intuition and Expertise in the Era of the Computer.
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2001–2011
A fellowship and a bestseller
He is elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001. With Sean Dorrance Kelly he publishes All Things Shining in 2011, a New York Times bestseller.
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April 2017
Death at 87
He dies in April 2017 at 87 years old, after his last class at UC Berkeley in December 2016.
Sources and credits
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