PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

J. Storrs Hall

Also known as John Storrs Hall, Josh Storrs Hall, Josh Hall

Josh Storrs Hall is an American computer scientist and author whose work links artificial general intelligence, machine ethics and molecular nanotechnology. After a 1976 mathematics degree from Drew University, he worked at Rutgers' Laboratory for Computer Science Research until 1997, described the Utility Fog robot-swarm concept in 1993 and earned a Rutgers PhD on associative processing in 1994. His 2007 book Beyond AI: Creating the Conscience of the Machine argued that strong AIs should be equipped with a moral sense and conscience, and in 2008 he presented VARIAC, a self-modifying cognitive architecture, at the first AGI conference. He was also the founding chief scientist of Nanorex and served as president of the Foresight Institute from 2009 to 2010. In December 2021, Stripe Press published his book on economic stagnation since the 1970s, and today he is an independent scientist and author and a research fellow at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing.

Timeline

  1. 1976–1998

    Associative processing at Rutgers

    After a 1976 BA in mathematics from Drew University, he works at Rutgers' Laboratory for Computer Science Research, where he is a computer systems architect from 1985 to 1997 and prime architect of the CAM2000 associative processor. He completes a Rutgers PhD in computer science in 1994 with a thesis on associative processing, advised by Saul Levy. In 1998, he coauthors a paper on utility-based search for stochastic design at the Fifteenth National Conference on AI.

  2. 1993

    The Utility Fog concept

    He originates Utility Fog, one of the earliest robot-swarm and intelligent-material concepts, and publishes "Utility Fog: A Universal Physical Substance" in 1993. He also founds the sci.nanotech newsgroup and moderates it for a decade.

  3. 2000–2007

    Beyond AI and machine conscience

    His essay "Ethics for Machines" appears online in 2000 and grows into the 2007 book Beyond AI: Creating the Conscience of the Machine, which argues that strong AIs should be equipped with a moral sense and conscience. He presents "Self-improving AI: An Analysis" at AI@50, the Dartmouth Artificial Intelligence Conference, in July 2006, and publishes it in Minds & Machines in 2007.

  4. 2004–2006

    Nanorex and Nanofuture

    He co-founds Nanorex Inc., which develops a CAD system for nanomechanical engineering, and serves as its chief scientist from 2004 to 2005. His book Nanofuture: What's Next for Nanotechnology wins the 2006 Foresight Nanotech Institute Communications Prize.

  5. 2008

    The VARIAC cognitive architecture

    At the first Artificial General Intelligence conference in 2008, he presents VARIAC, an experimental cognitive architecture designed to learn by modifying and extending itself, including its own ability to learn.

  6. 2009–2010

    President of the Foresight Institute

    The Foresight Institute appoints him president in February 2009, and he holds the post until 2010. At the second AGI conference in 2009, he debates Hugo de Garis, arguing that rising machine intelligence will create a utopia for humanity.

  7. 2011–2012

    An AGI roadmap in AI Magazine

    In 2012, he coauthors "Mapping the Landscape of Human-Level Artificial General Intelligence" in AI Magazine, a roadmap that proposes seven scenarios as milestones toward human-level AGI. Drew University gives him its 2011 Achievement Award in the Sciences.

  8. As of October 2026

    Independent scientist and author

    Stripe Press publishes his book Where Is My Flying Car? in December 2021; it traces economic stagnation since the 1970s to the failure to adopt nuclear energy and other technologies. He is an independent scientist and author, a research fellow at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing and an associate editor of the International Journal of Nanotechnology and Molecular Computation.

  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.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Curriculum Vitae: John Storrs Hall autogeny.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. J. Storrs Hall - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. Lifeboat Foundation Bios: Dr. J. Storrs “Josh” Hall lifeboat.com. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. J. Storrs (Josh) Hall, PhD. autogeny.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. IOS Press Ebooks - VARIAC: an Autogenous Cognitive Architecture ebooks.iospress.nl. Checked 19 October 2026.
  6. Nanotechnology Public Interest Group Appoints Dr. J. Storrs Hall President - Foresight Institute foresight.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  7. Debate on AGI: Utopia or Apocalypse? ieet.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  8. Mapping the Landscape of Human-Level Artificial General Intelligence | AI Magazine ojs.aaai.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  9. Foresight's recent past president honored by his undergraduate university - Foresight Institute foresight.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  10. Interview: J. Storrs Hall on getting lost in stagnation - Works in Progress worksinprogress.co. Checked 19 October 2026.
  11. Stripe Press — Where Is My Flying Car? press.stripe.com. Checked 19 October 2026.