WRoCAH AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award: Interdisciplinary Research Cultures in Mid-20th Century British Science: The Working Worlds of AI Pioneer Donald Michie (1923-2007)

Session 2023 - Closing Date 17:00 (UK time) 8 March 2023

Before applying for this studentship, ensure you read the requirements on the WRoCAH website.

Award provides fees and maintenance at UKRI Rates (£17,668 in Session 2022/23) plus £550 enhancement per annum.

This is an AHRC WRoCAH funded Collaborative Doctoral Award between School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, University of Leeds and the British Library.

Donald Michie – code-breaker, geneticist, computer scientist, Communist – was one of the founding figures in Britain of arguably the most transformative science of recent times: artificial intelligence (AI). Drawing on little-studied archival materials at the British Library as well as on oral-history interviews that the student will conduct, this project will explore the connections between academia, industry and politics which made mid-20th century Britain a hospitable setting for this extraordinary new "interdiscipline."

Michie's archive offers rich resources for an interpretation of post-war British scientific culture's openness to the creation of AI as a new interdisciplinary science, while Agar's "working worlds" framework (2012) – emphasizing the directive role of industrial and military needs in twentieth-century science – will enable the project to address wider issues.

The student will benefit from both the British Library’s world-class, employability-enhancing support and the specialist training in history of science provided by the Leeds Centre for History and Philosophy of Science.

Research Questions

• What does an archivally informed reconstruction of Michie's career reveal about the nature, motives and preconditions for his disciplinary roaming and creativity?
• What were the conditions in post-war Britain that permitted the emergence of AI, with the maverick Michie as one of its leaders?
• In what ways does Agar's "working worlds" framework illuminate the case of AI in Britain, and in what ways should that case prompt modifications of the framework?

Objectives and methods

• Analyse the ways in which material privately circulated but not retained in the public record contributes to the development of a working scientific culture.
• Survey the as-yet unstudied born-digital element, with a view towards adding these materials to the existing catalogue.
• Conduct oral history interviews with members of Michie's teams and his students and record a first-hand portrayal of how Britain's AI community formed around, and was guided by Michie.

The student will engage in a number of activities to develop their understanding and to communicate this understanding to a wider audience:

• Catalogue material by enriching descriptive metadata in existing catalogues and developing access to Michie's born-digital papers.
• Undertake oral history training and produce recordings with Michie's peers and students.
• Develop two public events.
• Produce two blog posts per year for the Science and Untold Lives blog, and additional web content as appropriate.
• Write at least one paper, published in the peer reviewed Electronic British Library Journal.

For further project information contact Professor Gregory Radick

Information about how to apply contact the Postgraduate Admissions team

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