David S. Touretzky
Encyclopedia
David S. Touretzky is a research
professor
in the Computer Science Department and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition at Carnegie Mellon University
. He received a BA in Computer Science
at Rutgers University
in 1978, and earned a Master's degree and a Ph.D.
(1984) in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Touretzky has worked as an Internet
activist in favor of freedom of speech
, especially what he perceives as abuse of the legal system by government and private authorities. He is a notable critic of Scientology
.
, computational neuroscience
, and learning. This includes machine learning
and animal learning, and in particular neural representation of space in rodent
s (e.g., in the hippocampus
) and in robot
s. In 2006 he was recognized as a Distinguished Scientist by the Association for Computing Machinery
.
. He sees the actions of the organization as a threat to free speech, and he has taken a prominent part in Internet-based activism to oppose it, also appearing regularly as a critic in radio and print. He has also worked to expose what he sees as dangerous and potentially life-threatening treatments provided by Narconon
, the Scientology-based drug rehabilitation program. He maintains a Web site entitled Stop Narconon, which archives media articles critical of the program. Dr. Touretzky's research into Narconon was a primary source of information for a series of San Francisco Chronicle
newspaper articles criticizing Narconon on June 9 and June 10, 2004 that ultimately led to the organization's program being rejected by the California school system in early 2005.
Touretzky has undertaken extensive research into the secret upper levels of Scientology, and he has made this information available to the public on the OT III Scholarship Page (concerning Xenu
) and the NOTs Scholars Page (concerning the higher Operating Thetan
levels). These pages, he states, are academic studies of Scientology's texts, and the proprietary materials are therefore legally available due to careful application of the academic fair use
provisions of copyright law. The Church has failed in their attempts to have them removed, after repeatedly threatening Touretzky with lawsuits and filing complaints against him with Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Mellon, in turn, has issued statements in support of Professor Touretzky, noting that his criticism of Scientology is a personal affair and not the opinion of the University itself.
Touretzky has been the object of public attacks by the Church of Scientology, including various "dead agent" campaigns against him. He has been accused of religious bigotry, racism, misogyny, misuse of government funds, support for terrorism, and collusion with the pharmaceutical industry, among other misdeeds.
In 2000, Touretzky testified as an expert witness for the defense in Universal City Studios et al. v. Reimerdes et al.
, a suit brought by seven motion picture studios against the publishers of 2600: The Hacker Quarterly
(the case name refers to Shawn Reimerdes, an unrelated defendant who settled prior to trial.) The suit concerned the publication of DVD
decryption software known as DeCSS
, which the plaintiffs asserted was illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
. Dr. Touretzky testified as an expert in computer science on the expressive nature of computer code, and convinced the court that code was indeed speech. Touretzky also created an online gallery of various renditions of the DeCSS software. Readers sent in their own renditions of the decryption algorithm, including a mathematical description, a haiku, and a square dance.
In reaction to the federal prosecution and eventual imprisonment of 18-year old political activist Sherman Austin
for hosting bomb-making instructions entitled Reclaim Guide on his web site, Dr. Touretzky provided a mirror
on his Carnegie Mellon website for more than two years, although he acknowledged on the website that his own reposting of the information did not violate the plain language of the statute under which Austin was convicted. In May 2004, to avoid harassment of the university and controversy in the media, Dr. Touretzky moved the mirror from the Carnegie Mellon server to a private site.
In 2011, Touretzky began hosting a mirror of the website of George Hotz
, containing executable files and instructions facilitating the jailbreaking
of the Sony PlayStation 3
, after Sony filed lawsuits against Hotz and other hackers aiming to utilize the takedown provisions of the DMCA
to remove the content from the Internet.
Articles:
Other:
Media/Press mention
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
in the Computer Science Department and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
. He received a BA in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 1978, and earned a Master's degree and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
(1984) in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Touretzky has worked as an Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
activist in favor of freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
, especially what he perceives as abuse of the legal system by government and private authorities. He is a notable critic of Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
.
Research
Touretzky's research interests lie in the fields of artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, computational neuroscience
Computational neuroscience
Computational neuroscience is the study of brain function in terms of the information processing properties of the structures that make up the nervous system...
, and learning. This includes machine learning
Machine learning
Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, is a scientific discipline concerned with the design and development of algorithms that allow computers to evolve behaviors based on empirical data, such as from sensor data or databases...
and animal learning, and in particular neural representation of space in rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s (e.g., in the hippocampus
Hippocampus
The hippocampus is a major component of the brains of humans and other vertebrates. It belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory and spatial navigation. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in...
) and in robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s. In 2006 he was recognized as a Distinguished Scientist by the Association for Computing Machinery
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
.
Criticism of Scientology
Since the late 1990s, Touretzky has worked to expose the actions of the Church of ScientologyChurch of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
. He sees the actions of the organization as a threat to free speech, and he has taken a prominent part in Internet-based activism to oppose it, also appearing regularly as a critic in radio and print. He has also worked to expose what he sees as dangerous and potentially life-threatening treatments provided by Narconon
Narconon
Narconon is a residential program aimed at substance abusers, headquartered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It operates through several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and Western Europe. Each Narconon center is independently owned and operated under a license...
, the Scientology-based drug rehabilitation program. He maintains a Web site entitled Stop Narconon, which archives media articles critical of the program. Dr. Touretzky's research into Narconon was a primary source of information for a series of San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
newspaper articles criticizing Narconon on June 9 and June 10, 2004 that ultimately led to the organization's program being rejected by the California school system in early 2005.
Touretzky has undertaken extensive research into the secret upper levels of Scientology, and he has made this information available to the public on the OT III Scholarship Page (concerning Xenu
Xenu
Xenu ,also spelled Xemu, was, according to the founder of Scientology L. Ron Hubbard, the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of his people to Earth in a DC-8-like spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes and killed them using hydrogen bombs...
) and the NOTs Scholars Page (concerning the higher Operating Thetan
Operating Thetan
In Scientology, the state of Operating Thetan is a spiritual state above Clear. L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, defined it as "knowing and willing cause over life, thought, matter, energy, space and time ". According to religious scholar J...
levels). These pages, he states, are academic studies of Scientology's texts, and the proprietary materials are therefore legally available due to careful application of the academic fair use
Fair use
Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders...
provisions of copyright law. The Church has failed in their attempts to have them removed, after repeatedly threatening Touretzky with lawsuits and filing complaints against him with Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Mellon, in turn, has issued statements in support of Professor Touretzky, noting that his criticism of Scientology is a personal affair and not the opinion of the University itself.
Touretzky has been the object of public attacks by the Church of Scientology, including various "dead agent" campaigns against him. He has been accused of religious bigotry, racism, misogyny, misuse of government funds, support for terrorism, and collusion with the pharmaceutical industry, among other misdeeds.
Free speech activism
David Touretzky is an Internet free speech activist. He has supported several movements in what he perceives as abuse of the legal system by government and private authorities.In 2000, Touretzky testified as an expert witness for the defense in Universal City Studios et al. v. Reimerdes et al.
Universal v. Reimerdes
Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Reimerdes was the first test of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act , a United States federal law.The plaintiffs, 8 movie studios, successfully sought an injunction against the distribution of DeCSS, a program capable of decrypting content protected using the...
, a suit brought by seven motion picture studios against the publishers of 2600: The Hacker Quarterly
2600: The Hacker Quarterly
2600: The Hacker Quarterly is an American publication that specializes in publishing technical information on a variety of subjects including telephone switching systems, Internet protocols and services, as well as general news concerning the computer "underground" and left wing, and sometimes ,...
(the case name refers to Shawn Reimerdes, an unrelated defendant who settled prior to trial.) The suit concerned the publication of DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
decryption software known as DeCSS
DeCSS
DeCSS is a computer program capable of decrypting content on a commercially produced DVD video disc. Before the release of DeCSS, there was no way for computers running a Linux-based operating system to play video DVDs....
, which the plaintiffs asserted was illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...
. Dr. Touretzky testified as an expert in computer science on the expressive nature of computer code, and convinced the court that code was indeed speech. Touretzky also created an online gallery of various renditions of the DeCSS software. Readers sent in their own renditions of the decryption algorithm, including a mathematical description, a haiku, and a square dance.
In reaction to the federal prosecution and eventual imprisonment of 18-year old political activist Sherman Austin
Sherman Austin
Sherman Martin Austin is an American anarchist and musician who was arrested for inflammatory content on his website and subsequently convicted. He was the first person to be successfully prosecuted under 18 U.S.C...
for hosting bomb-making instructions entitled Reclaim Guide on his web site, Dr. Touretzky provided a mirror
Mirror (computing)
In computing, a mirror is an exact copy of a data set. On the Internet, a mirror site is an exact copy of another Internet site.Mirror sites are most commonly used to provide multiple sources of the same information, and are of particular value as a way of providing reliable access to large downloads...
on his Carnegie Mellon website for more than two years, although he acknowledged on the website that his own reposting of the information did not violate the plain language of the statute under which Austin was convicted. In May 2004, to avoid harassment of the university and controversy in the media, Dr. Touretzky moved the mirror from the Carnegie Mellon server to a private site.
In 2011, Touretzky began hosting a mirror of the website of George Hotz
George Hotz
George Francis Hotz , alias geohot, million75 or simply mil, is an American hacker known for unlocking the iPhone, allowing the phone to be used with other wireless carriers, contrary to AT&T and Apple's intent...
, containing executable files and instructions facilitating the jailbreaking
Privilege escalation
Privilege escalation is the act of exploiting a bug, design flaw or configuration oversight in an operating system or software application to gain elevated access to resources that are normally protected from an application or user...
of the Sony PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, after Sony filed lawsuits against Hotz and other hackers aiming to utilize the takedown provisions of the DMCA
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...
to remove the content from the Internet.
Publications
Books:- David S. Touretzky, The Mathematics of Inheritance Systems (Research Notes in Artificial Intelligence) , Los Altos, CaliforniaLos Altos, CaliforniaLos Altos is a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 28,976 according to the 2010 census....
: Morgan Kaufmann, 1986. ISBN 0-934613-06-0. - David S. Touretzky, Common Lisp: A Gentle Introduction to Symbolic Computation, Redwood City, CaliforniaRedwood City, CaliforniaRedwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...
: Benjamin Cummings, 1990. ISBN 0-8053-0492-4. Out of print, but electronic versions are available.
Articles:
- David S. Touretzky, "Viewpoint: Free speech rights for programmers", Communications of the ACMCommunications of the ACMCommunications of the ACM is the flagship monthly journal of the Association for Computing Machinery . First published in 1957, CACM is sent to all ACM members, currently numbering about 80,000. The articles are intended for readers with backgrounds in all areas of computer science and information...
44(8):23–25, August 2001. , extended version. (On DeCSS.) - David S. Touretzky and Peter Alexander, "A church's lethal contract", Razor, 2003. (On Scientology.)
Other:
- David S. Touretzky et al., "Gallery of CSS descramblers".
- Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 8: Proceedings of the 1995 Conference (editor) ISBN 0-262-20107-0
- Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 7: Proceedings of the 1994 Conference (editor) ISBN 0-262-20104-6
- Proceedings of the 1993 Connectionist Models Summer School (co-author) ISBN 0-8058-1590-2
- Connectionist Models: Proceedings of the 1990 Summer School (co-author) ISBN 1-55860-156-2
- Proceedings of the 1988 Connectionist Models (co-author) ISBN 1-55860-035-3
Further reading
- Relating to DeCSS and MPAA v. 2600:
- MPAA v. 2600, transcript of trial, day 6, July 25, 2000. (Complete text of Dr. Touretzky's DeCSS testimony.)
- Damian Cave, "A bug in the legal code?", Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, September 13, 2000. - Declan McCullaghDeclan McCullaghDeclan McCullagh is an American journalist and columnist for CBSNews.com. He specializes in computer security and privacy issues. He is notable, among other things, for his early involvement with the media interpretation of U.S...
, "A thorn in Hollywood's side", Wired, March 20, 2001. - David F. Gallagher, "Movie industry frowns on professor's software gallery", The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, March 30, 2001. - David P. Hamilton, "Critics of DVD-copyright ruling argue constitution protects posting in all forms", The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, April 12, 2001.
- Relating to Dr. Touretzky's mirror of bomb-making instructions originally hosted by Sherman Austin:
- Sarah Hennenberger, "Author of explosives guide web site in court", The Tartan (Carnegie Mellon campus newspaper), 2002.
- Karen Welles, "CMU professor's web site causing controversy, site offers info on bomb-making", Target 11, WPXI, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, May 2, 2003. - John Middleton, "Ethics and tax dollars", Citizens Against Government Waste (an organization backed by MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
and the tobacco industryTobacco industryThe tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all...
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_Against_Government_Waste), May 1, 2004.
External links
Personal websites hosted by Carnegie Mellon-
- Professor Touretzky's personal Web site
- "Secrets of Scientology"
- Dr. Touretzky announces removal of RaisetheFist.com's Reclaim Guide from his CMU website to an external server.
Media/Press mention
- Referred to in discussion of Will SmithWill SmithWillard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
's L. Ron Hubbard Middle School in http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/celebrity/la-me-newvillage29-2008jun29,0,4515213.story"Scientology is focus of flap over Will Smith's new school", by Carla Rivera, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, June 29, 2008] and further commentary on Gawker: "L. Ron Hubbard Middle School Not An Indoctrination Center, Says Scientologist Founder Will Smith", June 29, 2008. - July 23, 2007 commentary on Countdown with Keith OlbermannCountdown with Keith OlbermannCountdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...
about Rev. Gandow's comparison of Tom CruiseTom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
to Joseph GoebbelsJoseph GoebbelsPaul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism... - April 17, 2006 commentary about Tom CruiseTom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
on Countdown with Keith OlbermannCountdown with Keith OlbermannCountdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...