Cognitive scientist Margaret Boden, whose books helped shape the philosophical conversation about human intelligence and AI, passed away on July 18 at age 88
A cognitive scientist, she used the language of computers to explore the nature of human thought and creativity, offering prescient insights about A.I.
New York Times Michael S. Rosenwald
Related Coverage
- Royal Institution pays tribute to the life and work of Professor Margaret Boden Royal Institution
- Margaret Boden obituary The Guardian · Dave Cliff
- Margaret Boden obituary: cognitive scientist who explored how machines might emulate human imagination Nature · Joanna Bryson
- Obituary: Professor Maggie Boden The University of Sussex
- Professor Maggie Boden obituary: philosopher and AI expert The Times · Caroline Wheeler
- Maggie Boden, cognitive scientist who foresaw the risks and potential of artificial intelligence Telegraph
- We have lost a rare polymath. Among other things, Margaret Boden's work wove together AI, philosophy, and creativity. … Stephanie Krishnan
- Margaret Boden, Philosopher of Artificial Intelligence, Dies At 88 1 Slashdot · BeauHD
Discussion
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@goodbinary
Gary Ismay
on bluesky
I remember borrowing her book “Artificial Intelligence and Natural Man” from the library back in the early eighties, when I was tinkering with natural language parsing in BASIC. RIP. — www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/s...
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@ianb@mastodon.well.com
Ian Betteridge
on mastodon
Oh gosh, Maggie Boden has died. One of my early cognitive science heroes. — https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@anilkseth
Anil Seth
on x
Maggie Boden's passing is a sad loss to many of us personally, and to cognitive science and philosophy as a whole. This obituary, by Michael Rosenwald, was published the other day in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@nytobits
@nytobits
on x
Margaret Boden, a British philosopher and psychologist who used the language of computers to explore the nature of thought and creativity, leading her to prescient insights about the possibilities and limitations of artificial intelligence, has died at 88. https://www.nytimes.com…
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@kenneth0stanley
Kenneth Stanley
on x
Sad news. Margaret Boden's book The Creative Mind influenced my thinking on creativity early on. Her notion of transformational creativity remains relevant today. Of all the things people knock LLMs for lacking, transformational creativity is the true prize.
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@mikerosenwald
Mike Rosenwald
on x
Polymathic, erudite and a trailblazer in a field dominated by men, Professor Boden helped shape the philosophical conversation about human and artificial intelligence for decades. https://www.nytimes.com/...