PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Jacques Pitrat

Jacques Pitrat investigated problem solving and meta-knowledge: knowledge that helps a program examine and improve its own behaviour. Pitrat began AI research in the early 1960s. He sustained an interest in meta-knowledge and programs capable of improving themselves. Pitrat published A Chess Combination Program Which Uses Plans in Artificial Intelligence in 1977. The paper applied plans to chess problem solving.

Timeline

  1. Early 1960s

    Beginning AI research

    Pitrat began AI research in the early 1960s. He sustained an interest in meta-knowledge and programs capable of improving themselves.

  2. 1977

    Plans in a chess program

    Pitrat published A Chess Combination Program Which Uses Plans in Artificial Intelligence in 1977. The paper applied plans to chess problem solving.

  3. 1990

    A book on meta-knowledge

    Pitrat wrote Métaconnaissance, Futur de l’Intelligence Artificielle, published in 1990. This line of work explored programs that use knowledge about their own reasoning.

  4. 1994

    Research recognition

    AAAI elected Jacques Pitrat as a Fellow in 1994.

  5. 1996

    Reflective systems

    Pitrat published Implementation of a Reflective System in Future Generation Computer Systems in 1996.He continued to study programs that can examine their own operation.

Sources and credits

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  1. L’œuvre scientifique de Jacques Pitrat (1934-2019) – Une perspective historique roia.centre-mersenne.org. Checked 13 October 2026.
  2. Elected AAAI Fellows — 1994 — Jacques Pitrat aaai.org. Checked 13 October 2026.