The Military Use of Alan Turing

Abstract

Alan Turing (1912-1954), British mathematician, was critical in the Anglo-American decipherment of German communications in the Second World War. This experience enabled him to formulate an original plan for the digital computer in 1945, based on his own 1936 concept of the universal machine. He went on to found the program of artificial intelligence research. This article discusses the relationship between these developments, and more general questions of mathematics and war illustrated by Alan Turing's life and work.