“I believe the most important application of fuzzy logic will be human–machine dialogue”

Awarded with the 5th BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Information and Communication Technologies, electronic engineer Lotfi Zadeh explains how fuzzy logic opened a new paradigm for language between machines and humans. In this interview, he discusses the origins of fuzzy sets, the need to represent imprecision in automated systems, and how this approach has enabled computers to “reason” in a more natural and flexible way. He also reflects on generations of researchers who have applied these concepts to everyday products and complex systems, and on the future of artificial intelligence in human–machine dialogue.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Laureate in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) category has been granted in this fifth edition to the electrical engineer Lotfi A. Zadeh, for the invention and development of fuzzy logic. In the last fifty years, this methodology has generated over 50,000 patents in Japan and the U.S. alone.