London Mathematical Society

Andrew Hodges examines the relationship between Turing’s 1936 computability foundations, his digital-computer plans of 1945, the first working electronic computers of 1948–51, and the emergence of computer science. He revisits whether von Neumann’s 1945 EDVAC report drew on Turing’s work, then focuses on Turing’s striking reticence after 1945 about his earlier foundations despite their relevance to his predictions about intelligent machines. Drawing on lesser-known documents, the lecture explores how this reticence influenced computing science and technology and why Turing can be considered a founding figure who avoided claiming either praise or responsibility.