Chris Mentzel

In 1979, German-born computer scientist Chris Mentzel had an unconventional idea for his Master’s thesis: What enables a network of nerve cells to understand the world, choose actions, and even develop consciousness? His groundbreaking neural network simulation — among the earliest of its kind — revealed how the brain identifies patterns and transitions from one thought to the next.
It would take another 43 years before neural networks matured enough to power ChatGPT — forever transforming how humans and machines interact.