Overview
Computer scientist at Stanford whose early work on natural language processing (SHRDLU) was followed by a turn toward critical reflection on AI, culminating in 'Understanding Computers and Cognition' (1986, with Fernando Flores). Winograd's trajectory from AI insider to critic paralleled and influenced Agre's own journey.
Winograd and Flores drew on Heidegger and Maturana to argue that the rationalist tradition in AI fundamentally misunderstood the nature of language, understanding, and human action — arguments that resonated deeply with Agre's developing critique.