Difference between revisions of "Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory"

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(D.C. Power building wasn't entirely abandoned in 1980.)
(Cover the SAILDART online archive of SAIL files)
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The '''Stanford Artifical Intelligence Laboratory''' (often known as the '''Stanford AI Lab''' or '''SAIL''' for short) was an influential early computer science research organization, at Stanford University.
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The '''Stanford Artifical Intelligence Laboratory''' (often known as the '''Stanford AI Lab''', or '''SAIL''' for short) was an influential early computer science research organization, at Stanford University.
  
It was founded in 1963 by John McCarthy, and was initially housed in the D. C. Power building (named after a person, not [[direct current|D. C. power]]), located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, over the campus.
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It was founded in 1963 by John McCarthy, and was initially housed in the D. C. Power building (named after a person, Donald Clinton Power, not [[direct current|D. C. power]]), located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, over the campus.
  
Although focused on AI work, om which it achieved much, SAIL made a number of significant contributions in computer science generally, such as the [[WAITS]] [[operating system]].
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Although focused on AI work, on which it achieved much, SAIL made a number of significant contributions in computer science generally, such as the [[WAITS]] [[operating system]].
  
In 1980, SAIL was shut down as an independent institution. The AI lab moved out of the famed D. C. Power building, leaving CCRMA behind. The remains of the Lab were merged into Stanford's Computer Science Department, and moved into the CS Department's location in Margaret Jacks Hall on the main campus.  
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In 1980, SAIL was shut down as an independent institution. The AI lab moved out of the famed D. C. Power building, leaving [[CCRMA]] behind. The remains of the Lab were merged into Stanford's Computer Science Department, and moved into the CS Department's location in Margaret Jacks Hall on the main campus.  
  
 
SAIL was re-opened in 2004.
 
SAIL was re-opened in 2004.
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==File repository==
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From 1972 to 1990, the [[file]]s on the SAIL [[time-sharing]] [[PDP-10]] were regularly backed up onto [[magnetic tape]]s, which were carefully saved and stored. By the end of SAIL's (first) life, these amounted to almost 3,000 low-density, 7-track tapes. These were carefully copied onto a final set of 229 reels of high-density 9-track magnetic tape, in a project that completed in 1990. In 1998, the contents were copied again, onto other media, and a project, SAILDART, was started to make them publicly available over the [[Internet]]. SAILDART is "a digital archive promulgating records from SAIL"; it is now available (see links below).
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{{semi-stub}}
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
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* [https://forum.stanford.edu/wiki/index.php/Early_Computers_at_Stanford#Stanford_Artificial_Intelligence_Lab_.281965_to_1979.29 Early Computers at Stanford]
 
* [https://forum.stanford.edu/wiki/index.php/Early_Computers_at_Stanford#Stanford_Artificial_Intelligence_Lab_.281965_to_1979.29 Early Computers at Stanford]
 
 
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20120515090608/www.stanford.edu/~learnest/sailaway.htm SAIL Away] (archived copy)
 
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20120515090608/www.stanford.edu/~learnest/sailaway.htm SAIL Away] (archived copy)
 
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* [https://saildart.org/ SAILDART]
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** [https://saildart.org/simple/ About SAIL DART ● ORG]
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** [https://saildart.org/simple/booklet/SAILDART_PREVIEW_2020_0330_good.pdf SAILDART Archive Preview]
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** [https://saildart.org/simple/index-book-simple.html SAILDART] - also contains a good summary history of SAIL
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** [https://saildart.org/simple/book/2019.pdf SAILDART Prolegomenon] - lengthy; a Table of Contents is on pp. 140-144 of the PDF
  
 
[[Category: Research Organizations]]
 
[[Category: Research Organizations]]

Revision as of 17:03, 11 August 2023

The Stanford Artifical Intelligence Laboratory (often known as the Stanford AI Lab, or SAIL for short) was an influential early computer science research organization, at Stanford University.

It was founded in 1963 by John McCarthy, and was initially housed in the D. C. Power building (named after a person, Donald Clinton Power, not D. C. power), located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, over the campus.

Although focused on AI work, on which it achieved much, SAIL made a number of significant contributions in computer science generally, such as the WAITS operating system.

In 1980, SAIL was shut down as an independent institution. The AI lab moved out of the famed D. C. Power building, leaving CCRMA behind. The remains of the Lab were merged into Stanford's Computer Science Department, and moved into the CS Department's location in Margaret Jacks Hall on the main campus.

SAIL was re-opened in 2004.

File repository

From 1972 to 1990, the files on the SAIL time-sharing PDP-10 were regularly backed up onto magnetic tapes, which were carefully saved and stored. By the end of SAIL's (first) life, these amounted to almost 3,000 low-density, 7-track tapes. These were carefully copied onto a final set of 229 reels of high-density 9-track magnetic tape, in a project that completed in 1990. In 1998, the contents were copied again, onto other media, and a project, SAILDART, was started to make them publicly available over the Internet. SAILDART is "a digital archive promulgating records from SAIL"; it is now available (see links below).

See also

External links