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Foundations of Computer Science are not redundant

1,046 Comments

P
Paola Giannini
5 years ago

Professor at Universita' del Piemonte Orientale

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Michael Scriney
5 years ago

Removing theory and foundation is a sure-fire way to curtail innovation.

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Bruno Lopes
5 years ago

Assistant Professor Universidade Federal Fluminense

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Nicola Prezza
5 years ago

Ca' Foscari university, Venice, Italy. May the wrath of Alan Turing be upon them!

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Bernd Fischer
5 years ago

"There is Nothing so Practical as a Good Theory" - Lewin's observation holds for AI now as much as it held for Psychology then. This is a short-sighted decision that will damage Leicester's reputation and harm its prospects for years to come.

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Agustín Eloy Martinez Suñé
5 years ago

Departamento de Computación, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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Maximilian Marx
5 years ago

The foundational research of today is the application of tomorrow. (TU Dresden)

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Stefano Calzavara
5 years ago

Researcher at Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, Italy

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James McKinna
5 years ago

What a depressing spectacle, from an institution barely older as a college (1921) than the foundations of computing themselves (1931), and still not yet chartered as a university when it was home to Robin Gandy, after his PhD under Alan Turing. 'Ut vita habeant', indeed. Shameful.

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Nimrod Talmon
5 years ago

Even if emphasis on AI makes sense, most TCS people can adapt their research to be AI-focused very easily; indeed, having more FoCo people in AI would strenghten AI.

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Javier Bargas
5 years ago

Without theory and foundation, there is no application. I object such short sighted decisions and support this petition to undo this decision.

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Steven Watts
5 years ago

Focusing purely on direct "applications" is a fundamental error and a short-sighted goal. Disregarding the study of theoretical foundations, will ultimately limit innovation.

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Marcelo Arenas
5 years ago

PUC Chile

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Chase Ford
5 years ago

As a doctoral student in computer science, I must say that I would not bet on a university without foundations. To my eye, foundations and applications are inseparable, and excellence is shaped by strong interactions between the two.

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Fu-Hong Liu
5 years ago

AI cannot live without Theoretical Computer Science and Mathematics.

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Sebastian Cioaba
5 years ago

Funding and supporting fundamental research like mathematics, theoretical computer science, medieval literature is key to future progress. Math and tcs will bring you new insights into AI and data science, while medieval literature will ensure that the students can explain their work to the public. Eric Lander explains it here: https://danielskatzblog.wordpress.com/2015/06/22/eric-landers-argument-for-public-funding-of-basic-research/

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Grzegorz Stachowiak
5 years ago

Another strange idea of university bureaucracy

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Kathleen Steinhofel
5 years ago Featured

Research into the foundations of science shouldn’t be treated as a business. It’s an activity to enrich knowledge and prepare the grounds for future applications to follow. It’s a shame to think even just parts of foundations of CS are dispensable.

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Rob Brennan
5 years ago

Foundational computer science today is needed for AI/data science capabilities tomorrow. This is especially true in our fast-moving field.

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Renaat Verbruggen
5 years ago

There has always been a false dichotomy between fundamental CS research and applications, or "Data Analytics do you mean Statistics or Operations Research?"