As Wikipedia tells, the AI pioneer Marvin Minsky (of whom Martin Minski once told me he wasn't aware of his almost name-doppelganger) has died at the age of 88. His theories are highly disputed, and his interesting work on AI development make him a great pioneer, albeit an unheard prophet, on the subject of the creation of true artificial intelligence.
Now I personally have not read any of his literature, but I am well aware of the great inflence he held. Indeed, AI philosophy is a very young part of philosophy that might as well have been founded by him (although Asimov's three laws presented in the science fiction books might be the most famous philosophical idea).
Of course, my personal belief is that the human brain is not producing any consciousness but rather just acting as a translator, just like a radio translates impulses into sound. The theory that was widely publicized by Pim van Lommel makes Minsky's theory of brain agents obsolete insofar, but on the other hand it might support the notion that a well developed artificial brain could indeed give host to a human consciousness. But can consciousness be artificially created? Probably not, but a good machine might serve as a vessel, just as the human body does.
Of course, the above linked Wikipedia article does more justice, listing also some of his inventions. Here is the permalink of it as I write.
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