Empowering Humanity Through Technology

Do you control your phone with voice commands?  Did you know your car was built by dozens of robots? Have you read books online for free?

Indian-American computer scientist and professor Raj Reddy and his students have pioneered artificial intelligence, speech recognition, robotics, and universal access to information. Reddy has devoted much of his life’s work to how technology can serve society, particularly in education and in bridging the digital divide through access to information.

Raj Reddy Joins Other Visionaries

For his groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence, robotics, and computer science education, Reddy was inducted as a CHM 2021 Fellow, joining other visionaries such as NASA mathematician and "hidden figure" Katherine Johnson, world wide web creator Tim Berners Lee, and software pioneer Rear Admiral Grace Hopper.

Watch the Event

Watch the full program here or read about the event highlights in this blog.

Here’s what you’ll experience

• Be inspired by Reddy’s story as we honor and celebrate his lifetime of work in artificial intelligence, speech recognition, robotics, institution building, and technology to empower humanity.
• Hear short tributes, impact stories, and examples from innovators and storytellers around the world.
• Interact with attendees with live chat and a real-time poll.
• Make bets about the future of AI with attendees and presenters.
• Add your voice by recording a video tribute, call to action, or idea for inspiration.
• Consider how computing, AI, and robotics can shape a better future to advance education, inclusion, equity, and access. 

Agenda

4:15 p.m. PDT
Backstage with Raj Reddy (By invitation only)
Join a live backstage conversation with Fellow Raj Reddy hosted by Stanford’s John Hennessy.

• Get the inside scoop on his 60-year journey pioneering cutting-edge AI technology, mentoring thousands of students, and building groundbreaking institutions. 
• A behind-the-scenes story about Raj and the PDP-1, the computer that enabled him to launch his work in speech recognition.
• Hear personal stories from close colleagues such as speech recognition leaders James and Janet Baker as well as computer scientist Alan Kay. 
• Learn how Raj thinks AI can help solve some of today’s most pressing global problems.

Watch Backstage with Raj Reddy here.

5 to 6:30 p.m. PDT
Award Ceremony and Program  (Open to all registered guests)
Be inspired by visionary computer scientist Raj Reddy as we honor and celebrate his lifetime of work in artificial intelligence, speech recognition, robotics, institution building, and technology to empower humanity with the 2021 CHM Fellow Award.

• CHM CEO Dan’l Lewin and AI experts Kai-Fu Lee and Yunhe Pan will offer remarks and tributes.
• AI pioneer Ed Feigenbaum will present the award.
• Reddy will share his personal reflections on becoming a Fellow.
• Innovators from US and Asia will explore the ongoing impact of Reddy’s work through stories: Tata chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Microsoft AI Azure CTO Xuedong Huang, and Carnegie Mellon President Farnam Jahanian. 
• Peek into the future through the eyes of computing thought leaders. Make a bet about the future of AI alongside tech pioneers Raj, Gordon Bell, John Hennessy, Andy Van Dam, and others and see the audience poll results live.

Consider how computing, AI, and robotics can be applied to advance education, inclusion, equity, and access.  Through the eyes of a diverse array of experts, what might the future of AI hold for all of us?

Watch the Award Ceremony and Program here.

2021 CHM Fellow Awards

The 2021 CHM Fellow Awards marks the Museum’s first-ever virtual Fellow Awards. CHM will celebrate the 2021 Fellows in a yearlong four-part series of thought-provoking virtual events and engaging digital content that explores the story and impact of each honoree and the present and future of tech for humanity.

Learn more about this year's honorees and the 2021 Fellow Awards.