gilbert@cs.glasgow.ac.uk (Gilbert Cockton) (09/22/89)
In article <45934@bbn.COM> djoslin@BBN.COM (David Joslin) writes: >Many of the philosophy professors at Carnegie Mellon were stolen >from the University of Pittsburgh, which you might consider as well. >However, their PhD program seemed geared towards heavy duty >philosophy ... and hard thinking gets in the way of serious AI? :-) -- Gilbert Cockton, Department of Computing Science, The University, Glasgow gilbert@uk.ac.glasgow.cs <europe>!ukc!glasgow!gilbert
djoslin@bbn.com (David Joslin) (09/23/89)
In article <3457@tahiti.cs.glasgow.ac.uk> (Gilbert Cockton) writes: >In article <45934@bbn.COM> djoslin@BBN.COM (David Joslin) writes: >>However, their PhD program seemed geared towards heavy duty >>philosophy >... and hard thinking gets in the way of serious AI? :-) That is from my summary of e-mail responses, of course, and not something I said. But it gives me an excuse to ask another question. I asked for information about PhD programs that combined AI and philosophy. I had assumed that it didn't really matter whether the degree came from a Philosophy department or a Cog Sci department or a CS department. I assumed that having a PhD in Philosophy, with classwork and research leaning strongly toward theoretical AI, would still allow me to teach in a CS/AI department. I've gotten some negative feedback about this, however, including some comments to the effect that few CS departments would consider hiring somebody with a PhD in Philosophy, especially as the number of CS PhDs continues to grow. Is this true? Would my MS in CS (and BS in EE) make any difference? Would a PhD in Philosophy, even with strong ties to AI research, really limit my options so severely? In the end I probably wouldn't let it prevent me from going to the school that seems to have research closest to the kind I want to do, but I'd like to have realistic expectations about job prospects. David djoslin@bbn.com POBox 1592, Cambridge MA 02238 Just machines that make big decisions, Programmed by fellows with compassion and vision.... What a beautiful world it will be, What a glorious time to be free. -- Donald Fagin, "I.G.Y."
zdhm06@backus.uucp (Donald H. Mitchell) (09/26/89)
[djoslin@bbn.com wrote about pursuing a Ph.D. in something related to both philosophy and ai; then followed that note with a note saying he met unexpected skepticism about employability if he gets a non-cs degree.] I thought so too when I started my Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology in 1980, but, lo and behold, everyone looks at me funny today when I say I work in AI and have a Ph.D. in Psychology. If you remember, Psychology was a third of the original backbone for AI. It's a tough world out there and university cs departments have more than just AI people. When a non-cs ph.d. shows up, even if the ai people are enlightened, the compiler, operating systems, and ee (if it's an eecs) won't give them the time of day. I mean, a psychologist or philosopher isn't even an engineer! :-) Don Mitchell dmitchell@trc.amoco.com Amoco Production Company (918) 660-4270 Tulsa Research Center P.O. Box 3385, Tulsa, OK 74102