My Life in Artificial Intelligence: People, anecdotes, and some lessons learnt

In this very personal workography, I relate my 40-year experiences as a researcher and educator in and around Artificial Intelligence (AI), more specifically Natural Language Processing. I describe how curiosity, and the circumstances of the day, led me to work in both industry and academia, and in various countries, including The Netherlands (Amsterdam, Eindhoven, and Utrecht), the USA (Stanford), England (Brighton), Scotland (Aberdeen), and China (Beijing and Harbin). People and anecdotes play a large role in my story; the history of AI forms its backdrop. I focus on things that might be of interest to (even) younger colleagues, given the choices they face in their own work and life at a time when AI is finally emerging from the shadows.