Homo sapiens, "wise man" in Latin, is the taxonomic species name for modern humans. But observing the current state of the world and its current trajectory, it is hard for me to accept the description “wise man”. I’d like to offer an alternative: Homo rationcinator, or reckoning man – where reckoning refers to both reasoning and computing. I will show that computing has been human destiny for 40,000 years. I will conclude by discussing whether reasoning and computing do lead to wisdom, especially in view of recent developments in Artificial Intelligence.
Moshe Y. Vardi is a University Professor, and the George Distinguished Service Professor in Computational Engineering at Rice University. He is the author and co-author of over 800 papers, as well as two books. He is the recipient of several scientific awards, is a fellow of several societies, and a member of several honorary academies. He holds ten honorary titles. He is a Senior Editor of Communications of the ACM, the premier publication in computing, focusing on societal impact of information technology.
Date: Wed 7 January 2026
Time: 14:00-15:00 + refreshments after
Location: Moore Auditorium
