minsky

Minsky is a surname associated with notable figures in science and economics. The most prominent individuals include Marvin Minsky (1927–2016), an American cognitive scientist and pioneer in artificial intelligence. He co-founded the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and contributed to theories of knowledge representation, perception, and the modularity of mind. His collaboration with Seymour Papert produced Perceptrons: An Introduction to Computational Geometry (1969), which influenced early AI debates. He later authored The Society of Mind, a synthesis describing how intelligence arises from interacting processes.

Another prominent figure is Hyman P. Minsky (1919–1996), an American economist recognized for the Financial Instability Hypothesis, which argues that financial markets tend to become increasingly unstable due to the accumulation of debt and risk by various economic agents. The term “Minsky moment” has entered economic discourse to describe a sudden, sharp collapse following a period of speculative expansion.

Beyond these figures, the surname Minsky is occasionally encountered in academic and public discourse related to artificial intelligence and macroeconomics. The two individuals noted above are the best known for shaping debate in their respective fields, and their legacies continue to influence discussions of machine intelligence and financial systems.